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Suggestive  Studies 
of  School  Conditions 


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issued  by 

C  P,  CARY 

State  Superintendent 


EXCHANGE 


Suggestive  Studies  of  School  Conditions 


An  Outlined  Study  in  School  Problems  for 
Women's  Clubs,  Parent-Teacher  Associ- 
ations and  Community  Organizations 


PREPARED    BY 

JANET  R.  RANKIN 

School  Service  Secretary 

State  Department  of  Education 


"As  long  as  the  schools  depend  on  public  indorsement 
for  their  maintenance,  why  not  court  suggestions  for 
improvement  from  the  public?" 

— William  McAndrew 


Issued  by 

C.  P.  GARY 

State  Superintendent 


MADISON,  WIS. 
1916 


INDEX 


Section 

Introduction 

General  Remarks  and  Cautions 

How  to  Form  a  Parent-Teacher  Association 

A  Suggested  Constitution 

Suggestions  for  Work  with  the  Schools 

Po  rent-Teacher  Association  Library 

I.  The  School  and  the  Community 

1.  What  Does  the  School  Do  for  the  Home? 

2.  What  Can  the  Home  Do  for  the  School? 

3.  Nationalities  in  the  Schools 

4.  The  Social  Center 

5.  Illiteracy 

6.  The  Newspaper  as  Community  Agent 

7.  Community  Agencies  of  Detriment 

8.  Consolidation 

9.  Vacation  Employment  for  Children 
Bibliography 

II.  The  School  Children 

1.  The  Census 

2.  Reasons  for  Not  Attending  School 

3.  Industries  and  Training 

4.  Why  Leave  School  and  Do  Nothing? 

5.  Enrollment  and  Attendance 

6.  Distance  of  Children  From  School 

7.  Over  Age 

8.  Non-Promotions 

III.  Pupil  Health  and  Hygiene 

1.  General  Remarks 

2.  Nutrition— The  School  Lunch 

3.  Sleep  and  Fresh  Air 

4.  Teeth,  Hair,  Eyes,  Ears,  etc. 

5.  Communicable  Diseases 

6.  The  School  Nurse 

IV.  Physical  Conditions 

1.  Location 

2.  Building 

3.  Heating  and  Ventilation 

4.  Sanitation,  Seating,  etc. 

5.  Cleanliness 

6.  Conclusions 

V.  School  Beautification 

1.  Cleanliness  of  Grounds 

2.  Beauty  of  Grounds 

3.  School  Gardening 

4.  Indoor  Decoration 

VI.  The  School  Library. 

1.  Library  Housekeeping 

2.  Number  and  Sort  of  Books 

3.  The  Use  of  Books 

4.  Cooperation  with  Public  Library 


Page 
3 


15 


22 


29 


41 


45 


349644 


iv         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


VII.     The  School  Teacher 

1.  Length  of  Service 

2.  Reasons  for  Leaving 

3.  Relation  of  Teacher  to  the  Community 

4.  Supervision  of  Teachers 

5.  Training  of  Teachers 

6.  Salaries  of  Teachers 

7.  Number  of  Pupils  per  Teocher 


VIII.  Kindergarten 53 

1.  Facts  about  Kindergartens 

2.  The  Establishment  of  a  Kindergarten 

3.  The  Work  of  the  Kindergarten 

4.  The  Montessori  Method 

5.  Benefits  of  the  Kindergarten 

IX.  The  Lower  Grades,  1  to  4 5G 

1.  Sub-primary 

2.  Reading — First  grade 

3.  Reading — Other  Primary  Grades 

4.  Arithmetic 

5.  Seat  Work 

6.  Writing  and  Spelling 

7.  The  Day's  Program 

X.  Upper  Grades,  4  to  8 60 

1.  Textbooks 

2.  Class  Work  and  Study 

3.  Training  for  Citizenship 

4.  Examinations 

5.  Subject  Contests 

6.  Correlation  of  School  Work  and  Life 

7.  Miscellaneous 

XI.  Discipline  and  Moral  Instruction 65 

1.  Moral  Instruction 

2.  The  Rule  of  Fear 

3.  Truancy  and  Lying 

4.  MilitaryTraining 

5.  School  Discipline 

6.  Self-Government  • 

7.  Thrift 
Bibliography 

XII.  Industrial  Work 70 

1.  Vocational  Survey 

2.  Establishment  of  Agriculture 

3.  Administration  of  Agriculture 

4.  Manual  Training 

5.  Domestic  Science 

6.  Commercial  Work 

7.  Vocational  Guidance 

XIII.  Recreation. 75 

1.  Supervision  of  District  Facilities 

2.  Playground  and  Equipment 

3.  Parks,  Vacant  Lots,  Alleys,  etc. 

4.  The  Movies 

5.  Other  Forms  of  Commercial  Amusement 

6.  Recreational  Clubs 


INDEX  v 

XIV.  The  High  School 78 

1.  Elimination 

2.  Resident  and  Nonresident  Pupils 

3.  The  Town  and  Union  High  Schools 

4.  The  Six-Six  Plan 

5.  Dropped,  Failed,  and  Promoted 

6.  The  High  School  Alumni 

7.  Work  for  High'  School  Students 

8.  School  Athletics  and  Contests 

9.  Clubs  and  Organizations 
10.  High  School  Boys  and  Girls 

XV.  Higher  Educational  Organizations 84 

1.  Our  Contribution  to  Higher  Education 

2.  Department  of  Public  Instruction 

3.  The  Extension  Division 

4.  Free  Library  Commission 

5.  Normal  Schools  and  County  Superintendent 

6.  The  National  Bureau 

7.  Other  General  Agencies 

XVI.  School  Finances....  87 

1.  Taxes 

2.  Analysis  of  School  Income 

3.  Analysis  of  School  Expenditures 

4.  Unit  Costs 

5.  School  and  Other  Civic  Activities 

6.  Cost  of  Recommendations 

7.  Budget 

XVII.  The  School  Exhibit 94 

Appendix  on  ^ethod 96 


TABLE  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Plate 

School  and  Home  Cooperation... 

The  Opposing  Forces 

HI.         Over  Age 

IV.  A  Health  CddZZZZZ! 

V.  Home  Lunch  Menus 

VI.  School  Lunch  Menus 

VII.  Poor  Lighting  Conditions 

VIII.  Let  There  Be  Light \ 

Scrubbing  Standards 

Schoolroom  Lighting 

Schoolroom  Lighting 

The  School  Library:......" 

XIII.  Number  Pupils  Per  Teacher 

XIV.  The  Kindergarten 

XV         The  School  and  Other  Agencies..'..' 

XVI.  School  Savings  Banks 

XVII.  The  Agricultural  Course'" 

XVIII.  Elimination 71 

XIX.  Five  Wisconsin  Cities... 

Where  the  School  Dollar  Goes 

XXI       Children  Failed  and  Promoted...  g 

XXII.    The  Cost  of  Non-Promotions 


INTRODUCTION 


General  Remarks  and  Cautions 

The  tactfully  managed  parent-teacher  association  or  women's  club 
cooperating  with  teachers  and  superintendents,  considering  problems  of 
importance  in  education,  can  do  perhaps  more  good  to  local  schools  than 
any  other  agency.  The  schools  form  the  largest  single  institution  in  a 
given  locality.  Teachers  and  superintendents  change  often.  Mothers  have 
a  personal  interest  in  the  individual  children  to  a  degree  that  teachers, 
in  the  nature  of  the  case,  cannot  have.  The  school  board  frequently  does 
not  have  time  to  go  into  the  details  of  school  work  as  the  interest  of  the 
members  would  make  them  wish  to  do.  The  parents'  club  can  study  school 
conditions  intelligently  and  tactfully  and  make  suggestions  which  cannot 
but  lead  to  their  improvement. 

There  are,  however,  grave  dangers  to  be  avoided  in  the  formation  and 
management  of  a  parent-teacher  association.  In  the  first  place,  it  must  not 
become  the  organ  of  any  faction  in  the  district.  All  the  parents  must  be 
invited  to  belong  and  invitations  to  attend  must  be  sent  out  regularly, 
perhaps  through  the  school  children,  for  universal  attendance.  The  prin- 
cipal or  superintendent  should  be  made  an  integral  part  of  the  club — an 
officer,  if  possible. 

Clubs  making  school  studies  must  always  take  care  not  to  appear  med- 
dlesome or  interfering,  but  must  use  tact  and  seek  opportunities  for  service 
rather  than  occasions  for  criticism. 

How  to  Form  a  Parent-Teacher  Association 

1.  Consult  with  teacher,  principal,  or  superintendent  with  regard  to 
the  formation  of  such  a  club,  and  also  discuss  the  matter  with  representa- 
tive citizens. 

2.  Let  the  teacher  and  club  organizers  decide  on  a  simple  program, 
in  rinding  exercises  by  school  children. 

3.  Let  children  write  invitations  (in  grade  language  work)  to  parents 
and  other  citizens;  let  the  teacher  see  citizens  and  notify  them  to  attend 
and  let  parent  organizers  urge  attendance  and  interest. 

4.  On  the  day  of  meeting,  have  exercises  by  the  children,  and  explain 
the  necessity  and  value  of  the  parent-teacher  association. 

5.  Let  friends  approached  beforehand  start  a  discussion.     Have  the 
ounly   superintendent,   or  other  outside  educational  official,  attend  and 
speak,  if  possible. 

6.  Elect  a  temporary  secretary  and  temporary  chairman  authorized  to 
appoint  a  constitution  committee  to  report  at  the  next  meeting;  also  to 
make  a  tentative  program  and  to  secure  speaker  for  the  next  meeting. 


1          .SUGGESTIVE  STTTDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

7.  Fix  time  of  the  next  meeting;  take  names  of  persons  present  and 
interested;  ask  persons  attending  to  work  out  suggestions  for  club  studies; 
make  copies  of  this  pamphlet  and  others  available  to  all  interested  to 
glance  over. 

8.  At  second  meeting,   adopt  constitution,   elect  permanent  officers, 
listen  to  an  outside  speaker,  and  arrange  important  lines  of  work.     Write 
Department  of  Public  Instruction,  giving  information  of  organization  and 
asking  for  Educational  News  Bulletin.    Write  Corresponding  Secretary, 
Wisconsin  Branch,  National  Congress  of    Mothers  and  Parent-Teacher 
Associations. 

A  Suggested  Constitution 

ARTICLE  I— Name 

This  organization  shall  be  known  as  the  Parent-Teacher  Association  of 
the  public  school. 

ARTICLE  II— Purpose 

The  purpose  of  this  association  shall  be  to  study  the  welfare  of  the  child 
in  home,  school  and  community;  to  create  a  better  understanding  between 
parents  and  teachers,  and  to  secure  cooperation  between  parents  and 
teachers  in  all  endeavors  and  efforts  for  the  betterment  of  school,  home 
and  community. 

ARTICLE  III— Membership 

Any  person  interested  in  the  purpose  for  which  this  organization  is 
formed,  participating  in  its  activities  by  work,  by  attendance,  contribu- 
tions or  otherwise,  may  be  a  member  of  this  association. 

ARTICLE  IV— Officers 

The  officers  of  this  organization  shall  be  President,  Vice  President, 
Secretary,  Treasurer,  and  Press  Secretary,  to  be  elected  annually,  at  the 
meeting  in  the  month  of 

ARTICLE  V— Meetings 

The  regular  meetings  of  this  organization  shall  be  held  on  the 

afternoon  (or  evening)  of  each  month.   Special  meetings  shall  be  called  by 

(It  is  not  advisable  to  hold  meetings  too 

often.  Once  in  two  weeks  or  a  month  is  suggested.) 

ARTICLE  VI — Amendments 

This  constitution  may  be  amended  at  any  annual  meeting,  or  by  unani* 
mous  consent  at  any  regular  meetiag  when  previous  notice  has  been  given 
at  a  regular  meeting  that  such  changelis.to  be  proposed  and  acted  upon. 

By-Laws 

In  the  By-Laws  provide  for  these  matters;  Dues,  duties  of  officers, 
committees,  ways  of  paying  bills,  auditing  of  accounts,  an  order  of  business, 
and  the  adoption  of  some  standard  rules  of  order  to  govern  business  pro- 
cedure. 


INTRODUCTION  5 

Suggestions  for  Work  with  the  Schools 

1.  Oiler  the  services  of  the  club  to  the  superintendent  or  principal  to 
make  any  study  which  he  or  she  may  deem  valuable  and  necessary.   The 
school  officials  know  perhaps  better  than  anyone  else  in  what  things  your 
school  needs  help,  and  the  club  will  do  better  to  follow  their  suggestions 
than  to  take  up  a  line  of  work  on  its  own  initiative.    It  may  be  well  to 
appoint  the  superintendent  and  principal  on  the  program  committee  to 
decide  on  the  course  of  study  for  the  club. 

2.  It  is  most  important  that  the  first  meeting  of  this  association  be 
made  successful.    This  will  set  a  standard  for  further  meetings  to  attain 
and  surpass. 

3.  In  making  each  study  determine 

(1)  Standards  to  attain. 

(2)  Local  facts. 

(3)  What  can  be  done  by  club,  teachers,  school  children,  school 

board,  vote  of  citizens,  etc. 

(4)  Who  will  see  that  it  is  done. 

4.  Try  to  make  the  club  include  the  fathers  as  well  as  the  mothers.  Be 
sure  that  the  school  board  is  an  integral  part  of  the  club;  that  its  members 
speak  frequently  and  are  always  invited  to  attend.    It  will  be  found  that 
alternating  afternoon  and  evening  meetings  will  make  it  easier  to  secure 
the  attendance  of  the  fathers  and  other  business  men. 

5.  Make  dues  as  small  as  possible.   Provide  for  expenses  through  enter- 
tainments where  necessary. 

6.  A  suggested  arrangement  for  club  officials  is  as  follows: 
President — a  mother 

1st  Vice  President — a  father 
2nd  Vice  President — a  teacher 
Recording  secretary — a  teacher 
Corresponding  secretary — a  mother 
Treasurer — a  father. 

7.  Bear  in  mind  that  few,  if  any,  clubs  will  find  it  possible  to  complete 
the  work  of  this  outline  in  a  year.  It  is  better  to  do  a  small  part  thoroughly 
than  to  try  to  cover  the  entire  ground  hastily. 

8.  Do  not  let  a  few  people  provide  all  the  discussion.  Give  every  member 
a  real  work  to  do  and  try  to  bring  in  outsiders  and  "stay-at-homes",  men 
and  women,  wherever  possible.    Get  the  butcher  and  the  postmaster  for 
active  members  as  well  as  the  minister  and  the  professional  man. 

9.  Make  teachers  and  principals  feel  that  it  is  is  their  association  and 
that  the  work  taken  up  is  work  for  them.  In  each  section  study  try  to  have 
one  or  more  teachers  involved  but  be  sure  not  to  overwork  them. 

10.  The  press  secretary  is  one  of  the  most  important  members  of  the 
club.   He  or  she  should  be  a  person  of  energy  and  should  have  an  eye  for 
news.     This  secretary  should  arrange  with  the  local  editors  for  regular 
newspaper  space  in  which  to  report  association  meetings  and  findings  in  a 
live  and  interesting  manner.    The  press  secretary  is  also  invited  to  send 
items  to  the  Educational  News  Bulletin. 

11.  Hold  meetings  in  the  schoolhouse.    (See  Social  Center  Laws  in  1915 
School  Code).    Have  a  desk  and  library  corner  at  the  school  in  which  to 
keep  club  material. 


6          SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

12.  Let  each  study  produce  a  constructive  chart  graphically  showing 
conditions.    At  the  end  of  the  year's  work,  hold  an  annual  school  exhibit. 
(See  section  17,  The  School  Exhibit.) 

13.  Follow  educational  legislation  through  each  session  of  the  State, 
Legislature.    This  will  be  possible  through  the  local  paper,  or  a  study  of 
the  Educational  News  Bulletin,  or  one  of  the  larger  Wisconsin  newspapers. 

14.  Analyze  each  study  made  involving  expenditure  or  economy  to  find 
out  the  amount  which  it  will  cost  or  the  amount  which  it  will  save  for  the 
schools.   (See  section  16,  School  Finance.) 

15.  It  may  be  well  to  have  a  council  appointed  consisting  of  the  super- 
intendent or  principal,  one  or  two  members  of  the  school  board,  and  the 
president  of  the  club,  to  review  each  study  before  it  is  presented  at  an 
association  meeting.  This  plan  is  found  to  be  practicable  in  some  Wisconsin 
cities. 

16.  In  taking  up  an  individual  study,  a  suggested  method  of  procedure 
is  the  following:  Assign  each  of  the  topics  under  any  given  section  to  a 
committee  of  three,  appointing  a  chairman  and  letting  him  or  her  choose 
the  other  two  members.    Let  each  chairman  of  a  committee  be  a  member 
of  the  committee  for  the  topic  following,  so  that  there  is  a  continuity 
among  the  different  groups  making  the  studies,  so  that  recommendations 
will  not  be  too  widely  dissimilar.  Each  topic  will  probably  form  the  center 
of  discussion  for  one  meeting.     In  some  cases,  it  may  be  that  two  topics 
can  be  taken  up. 

17.  In  every  study  undertaken,  the  constructive  idea  should  be  kept 
in  mind.    Do  not  criticise  without  offering  alternatives  and  try  to  criticise 
only  in  cases  where  it  is  entirely  necessary.  Examine  the  charts  to  see  that 
none  of  them  contain  condemnation  of  existing  conditions  without  sug- 
gestions for  bettering  them. 

18.  Be  sure  that  in  each  study  made  the  club  shows  the  teacher  or  school 
officer  the  respect  and  consideration  which  is  his  due. 

Parent- teacher  Association  Library 

The  pamphlets  here  listed  should  be  in  the  possession  of  each  parent- 
teacher  association  making  these  studies.  It  will  be  found  that  the  best 
way  to  procure  them  will  be  to  have  the  school  children  in  the  upper 
grades  write  for  them  as  part  of  their  practice  in  composition  and  letter 
writing.  It  is  suggested  that  all  these  bulletins  be  sent  for  at  the  beginning 
of  the  club  study,  be  checked  off  the  list  as  they  arrive  and  that  follow-up 
letters  be  sent  where  bulletins  are  not  immediately  available.  The  books 
mentioned  are  suggested  for  use,  but  are  not  indispensable. 

1  Biennial  Reports  1912-14  and  1914-16,  Department  of  Public  In- 
struction, Madison,  Wisconsin. 

2  Copies  of  this  bulletin. 

3.  School  Code,  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Madison,  Wis- 
consin. 

4.  State  Blue  Book,   Superintendent  of  Public  Property,  Madison, 
Wisconsin. 

5.  Bulletins  and  reports  of  the  Wisconsin  branch,  National  Congress 
of  Mothers  and  Parent-teacher  Associations.    (Corresponding  secretary, 
Miss  Elizabeth  Marshall,  40  Prospect  Ave.,  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin). 


INTRODUCTION  7 

6.  Educational   News  Bulletin,   Department  of  Public   Instruction, 
Madison,  Wisconsin. 

7.  Farmers'  Bulletin,  "School  Lunches,"  U.  S.  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, Washington,  D.  C. 

8.  Write  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  Washington,  D.  C.,  for  their  most 
recent  bulletin  containing  a  list  of  former  bulletins  from  which  your 
association  may  select  those  that  it  will  find  most  valuable.   Those  to  be 
used  in  this  study  are — Bulletin  1914,  No.  28  on  the  Kindergarten;  Bulle- 
tin,  1914,  No.  30  Consolidation;  Bulletin  1915,  No.  20,  Rural  School 
System  of  Minnesota. 

"9.     Bulletin  "The  School  Beautiful,"  Department  of  Public  Instruction, 
Madison. 

10.  Rules  on  the  Sanitary  Care  of  Schools,  State  Board  of  Health, 
Madison,  Wisconsin. 

11.  Building  Codes  for  New  and  Existing  Buildings,  Industrial  Com- 
mission, Madison,  Wisconsin. 

12.  "Seattle  Children  in  School  and  Industry,"  Board  of  School  Di- 
rectors, Seattle,  Washington. 

13.  "Over  Age  and  Progress  in  the  Public  Schools  of  Dayton,"  Bureau 
of  Municipal  Research,  Dayton,  Ohio. 

14.  Report  on  Salaries  and  Living  Conditions  in  Oshkosh,  Wisconsin, 
Principal  D.  H.  Wright,  Merrill  School,  Oshkosh,  Wisconsin. 

15.  Fire  prevention  bulletins,  Fire  Marshal,  Madison,  Wisconsin. 

16.  School  Survey  of  San  Antonio,  City  superintendent,  San  Antonio, 
Texas. 

17.  City  Survey,  Superintendent  of  city  schools,  Ft.  Leaven  worth, 
Kansas. 

18.  Bulletins  issued  by  the  Wisconsin  Anti-Tuberculosis  Association 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 

19.  Samples  of  the   Courtis  Tests,   World  Book   Co.,   Yonkers-on- 
Hudson,  New  York. 

«20.     The  Township  Library  List,  Department  of  Public  Instruction, 
Madison,  Wisconsin. 

21.  Bulletins  issued   by  the   Self  Government   Committee.      Write 
Richard  Welling,  2  Wall  St.,  New  York  City. 

22.  Bulletin  on  Play-ground  Apparatus,  Fresno  State  Normal  School, 
Fresno,  California. 

23.  General  bulletins  issued  by  all  agencies  described  in  section  15, 
"Higher  Educational  Organizations." 

24.  Bulletin  on  budget  making,  issued  by  Bureau  of  Municipal  Re- 
search, New  York  City. 

25.  High  Spots  in  New  York  City  Schools— 50c.    Institute  for  Public 
Service,  Chamber  St.,  New  York  City. 

26.  The  Public  and  its  School,  Wm.  McAndrew,  50c.  World  Book  Co., 
Yonkers-on -Hudson,  New  York. 

Books  to  Buy: 

27.  "Helping  School  Children,"  by  Elsa  Dennison,  published  by  Harper 
&  Bros.,  New  York  City. 

28.  "Educative  Seat  Work,"  by  E.  F.  Worst  and  Edna  Keith.  Thomas 
Charles  Co.,  Chicago,  1913-144  p.  Price  75  cents. 

29.  Madison  Recreational  Survey,  50  cents.  Write  Board  of  Commerce, 
Madison,  Wisconsin. 

30.  Boy  Scouts'  Handbook.  Grosset  &  Dunlap,  New  York  City.  422  p. 
50  cents. 

31.  "Child   Study   and    Child  Training,"   by   William  B.   Forbush, 
$1.00.     Scribner,  New  York  City.     320  pp. 

32.  Books  may  be  obtained  on  payment  of  postage  from  the  Wisconsin 
Free  Traveling  Library,  Madison,  Wisconsin,  on  any  subject  which  this 
club  may  take  up.   Bulletin  and  pamphlet  materials  available  by  writing 
the  package  library,  extension  division,  Madison,  Wisconsin. 


SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  or  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


I. is i  of  W  i s<-<> ii si ii  Si:ii«'  Depart  im-ni  llnll«  I  ins  Available  on  Request 


\v,i  icnllure  Tor  15 n nil  Schools 
Arbor  and  Bird  Day  Manual 
Common  School  Manual 
Consolidation  Bulletin 
DoiiK'slic      Science      Tor     Country 

Schools 

I  lu'li  School  Library  List 

I  lij;h  School  Manual 

I  lo\\   lo  1  lave  a  ( iood  School 

I.CSSIMIS  on    llu*    I'sc  of   the   Scliool 

Libr  ii  \ 
Mcinoiuil  I  )a\    Annual 

r.ci>ori  of  Committee  of  15  on  1  in  nil 

Schools 
Kct|nircmcnts   and    Sni^rslions   for 

Stal«-  ( Iradi'd  Schools 
School  Bi-autifnl 
S 'liool  C'.odc 
School  1  U^u-iu' 
Social  Outer  Hnllelin 
State  dradrd  School  Manual 


Suggestions    on     the-    Toadung    of 

Reading 

Tentative      cours-»      of      study      in 
(ieography.    History,   and   Civics 
The   Superintendent  'and    Superin- 
tendence 

Township  Library  List 
Suggestions  lo  I  liijh  Schools 

Official  School  Directory 

deal  While-  Plague 

I  ,ibrary  Accession  Book 

llistory     and     Handbook    of    Day 

Schools  for  the  Deaf 
Teachers'  Training  Course  Bulletin 
Biennial  Keport 
I  .ibrary  1  -oan  Kecord  Book 
S-.t'ety  Primer 
I  \ebinding  painphl  >l 
.Six-Six  plan 
I  ndusl  rial  bulletins 


SECTION  I.    THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 


1.   What  Does  the  School  Do  for  the  Home? 

The  school  is  the  agency  society  has  established  specifically  for  the  pur- 
pose of  educating  and  training  the  child  for  life  among  his  fellows.  Among 
other  agencies  which  train  the  child  are  the  home  itself,  the  street,  the 
church,  and  work  or  occupation.  The  school  touches  every  part  of  a  child's 
life,  and  if  efficient,  tends  to  give  him  the  rounded  training  necessary  for 
his  subsequent  life  as  a  citizen. 

Through  discussion,  compile  a  list  of  the  things  the  school  can  do  and 
does  do  for  the  home.  (See  Plate  I).  How  would  homes  be  different  if 
schools  did  not  exist?  In  what  ways  have  the  local  schools  affected  your 
home? 

Discuss  the  service  of  the  school  in  these  directions: 

a.  Training  to  earn  a  living.   In  what  way  will  the  school  help  in  each 
of  a  number  of  trades  and  occupations?   Discuss  its  service  in  training  in 
mathematics,  in  English,  in  handwork,  etc.  Are  there  any  trades  in  which 
school  training  does  not  help  a  boy  or  girl? 

b.  Training  for  citizenship.     (Development  of  patriotism,  knowledge 
of  American  government  and  institutions,  history  of  the  country,  etc.) 

c.  Training  for  home  relations  (courtesy,  neatness,  school  credit  for 
home  work*,  home  efficiency  in  domestic  science  and  manual  training, 
good  habits  in  the  home,  etc.) 

d.  Training  for  culture  (look  up  definition  of  culture  in  the  dictionary, 
and  also  discuss  culture  defined  as  the  instinct  of  workmanship,  which 
leads  a  person  to  take  pleasure  in  doing  any  piece  of  work  well  even  though 
there  is  no  financial  return  for  it.) 

e.  Other  ways. 

Let  each  member  of  the  committee  making  this  study,  who  has  a  child 
who  has  completed  the  elementary  school,  give  a  talk  on  "What  the  School 
Has  Done  for  My  Child."  Call  for  a  talk  on  "What  the  School  Should 
Give  the  Child"  from  local  business  men  and  also  for  impromptu  talks 
along  this  line  from  other  club  members. 

2.    What  Can  The  Home  Do  For  The  School? 

In  order  to  make  a  valuable  member  of  society  of  the  school  child,  there 
must  be  a  preliminary  training  to  give  the  child  a  right  foundation  for  his 
school  work.  The  child  coming  from  a  home  where  there  are  good  standards 
of  health,  character,  harmony  and  freedom  will  ordinarily  do  better  in 
school  than  the  child  coming  from  a  home  of  the  opposite  sort.  The  home 
must  understand  school  requirements  as  to  study,  conduct,  etc.,  and  see 
that  children  conform  to  these. 

Calculate  the  division  of  the  child's  time  per  week  between  home  and 
school.  Which  has  I  he  greatest  time  influence  on  the  average  child? 

*See  bulletin  "Civic  and  Social  Work  in  Country  Communities,"  or  write  your 
county  superintendent. 


10         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


AMERICA'S  BEST  PRODUCT 


What  Will  They  Be 
When  They  Grow  Up? 


To  Make  Good  Citizens 


Insert 

picture    of 

school 


and 


Insert 

picture   of 

home 


Must  Cooperate 


WILL  YOU  DO  YOUR  PART? 


PLATE  I 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  COMMUNITY  11 

Get  the  primary  teacher  to  speak  on  the  topic,  "What  Habits  Children 
Should  Have  Formed  on  Entering  the  Primary  Grade."  These  may  be 
classified  as  habits  of  obedience,  of  neatness,  of  cheerfulness,  etc.  etc. 

In  the  light  of  each  of  the  ideals  of  service  which  the  school  of  today 
is  seeking  to  render,  (see  topic  1),  discuss  how  the  home  can  help  the  school. 

Discuss  how  the  home  may  help  the  school  by 

a.  School  visiting.    Has  your  school  had  a  "Go  To  School  Day"?   One 
school  holds  a  session  yearly  in  late  afternoon  or  early  evening,  so  that 
fathers,  as  well  as  mothers,  may  attend  and  see  school.    Have  you  seen 
the  regular  work  of  your  school,  as  well  as  special  programs? 

b.  Through  the  formation  of  right  habits  in  children. 

c.  Financially,  by  giving  material  aid  to  increase  school  equipment  and 
make  possible  more  efficient  work. 

d.  Through  interest  and  encouragement,  finding  out  what  the  teachers 
and  superintendent  need,  and  trying  in  every  way  to  cooperate  with  them 
to  make  the  school  the  best  possible. 


3.  Nationalities  in  the  Schools 

The  school  has  a  distinct  problem  with  regard  to  the  mixture  of  races 
to  be  found  in  most  American  communities.  It  is  an  agent  for  Americaniz- 
ing foreign  children,  as  well  as  their  parents. 

In  how  many  homes  is  a  foreign  language  spoken?  Is  there  then  a 
problem  with  regard  to  the  number  of  foreign  children  in  the  local  schools? 
What  can  the  school  do  for  the  children  of  foreign  parents  to  make  them 
as  fully  American  citizens  as  possible?  How  can  the  school  reach  the 
parents  in  order  to  help  them? 


4.    The  Social  Center 

In  Wisconsin  country  schools  during  1914-15,  21,415  meetings  were  held 
in  school  buildings  besides  2893  in  high  schools.  The  school  has  always  had 
an  opportunity  in  bringing  the  people  of  the  community  together  for 
talks,  debates,  lectures,  concerts,  etc.,  and  it  should  work  out  this  duty 
as  fully  as  possible.  The  best  social  centers  depend  largely  on  themselves 
for  speakers  and  subjects;  although  many  outside  speakers  are  available. 

How  many  social  center  meetings  were  held  in  your  school  during  the 
past  year?  How  successful  were  they?  What  can  be  done  to  make  them 
more  so? 

What  are  the  advantages,  racial,  social,  and  economic,  of  such  meetings? 
Do  the  country  people  attend?  How  can  meetings  be  made  educational 
and  recreational?  Frame  tentative  programs  for  meetings  on  school  affairs, 
library,  new  devices  in  housekeeping,  debates  on  recent  questions,  etc. 

Who  can  speak?  Anyone  who  is  interested  in  his  work  will  have  some- 
thing to  say.  The  doctor,  the  lawyer,  miller,  county  superintendent, 
supervising  teacher,  and  many  outside  speakers  are  always  available. 
Do  not  use  merely  the  speakers  who  are  usually  called  upon,  but  be  always 
discovering  new  and  interesting  talkers. 


12        SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

5.    Illiteracy 

Wisconsin,  in  1915,  had  thirty- two  persons  out  of  every  thousand  ten 
years  of  age  or  over,  who  were  illiterate,  and  is  thirteenth  among  the  states 
in  this  respect.  The  problem  of  adult  illiteracy  may  not  at  first  seem  a 
very  pressing  one,  but  in  every  community  there  can  be  found  individuals 
who  would  be  benefited  by  continued  study  of  the  fundamentals. 

How  many  illiterates  are  there  in  your  community?  How  many  adults 
or  boys  and  girls,  who  have  left  school  for  a  number  of  years,  would  be 
glad  to  learn  more  of  school  subjects?  A  principal  in  California  started 
an  evening  class  at  his  house  at  his  own  expense  for  such  people.  Many 
city  school  systems  include  extensive  night  classes  for  people  who  cannot 
attend  school  during  the  day.  Include  an  item  in  the  club  newspaper 
report,  asking  for  the  names  of  people  who  would  like  such  a  course  and 
report  on  it  in  the  discussion  of  this  topic. 

6.  The  Newspaper  as  Community  Agent 

The  modern  newspaper  has  power  to  advance  community  betterment  to 
almost  any  extent  by  letting  people  know  about  conditions  and  needs. 

What  does  the  local  newspaper  do  to  advance  community  spirit?  Here 
is  a  list  of  some  things  it  can  do : 

Run  a  school  column  written  by  pupils  under  the  direction  of  the  teacher 
Advertise  meetings  and  proceedings  of  parent-teacher  associations 
Give  full  notice  of  services  in  all  churches 
Cut  out  objectionable  advertisements 

Boost  club  work,  school  affairs,  church  work,  civic  spirit,  etc. 
Consult  with  superintendent  and  give  publicity  under  his  direction  to 
school  needs. 

7.  Community  Agencies  of  Detriment* 

One  of  the  functions  of  a  constructive  association  for  school  betterment 
is  to  eliminate  the  evil  forces  in  the  community  as  well  as  to  formulate  and 
encourage  the  agencies  of  good.  In  many  cases,  an  institution  is  an  agency 
of  good  or  evil  according  to  the  way  in  which  it  is  used — for  example, 
moving  pictures  may  easily  be  made  into  an  educative  force  while  many 
unsupervised  parks,  playgrounds,  etc.,  degenerate  into  agencies  of  evil. 
Not  all  institutions  which  are  at  times  deterimental  need  be  completely 
eliminated;  regulation  and  supervision  will  do  much  to  make  them  into 
agencies  of  good.  Other  cases  may  be  found  where  regulation  will  not  do, 
but  elimination  must  be  made. 

Make  two  lists — one  of  the  community  agencies  of  vice,  one  of  the  agen- 
cies of  good.  How  do  they  compare?  (See  plate  II). 

Remember  that  young  people  must  have  recreation.  Municipally, 
club,  or  church-owned  recreation  rooms,  educational  movies,  municipal 
Christmas  trees,  school  gatherings  and  other  celebrations,  have  been  found 
to  complete  successfully  in  various  localities  with  the  agencies  of  harm. 
The  first  essential  is  intelligent,  constructive  interest  on  the  part  of  the  club 
women,  not  merely  to  eliminate  harmful  agencies  of  amusement,  but  to 
build  up  a  moral  equivalent  which  will  give  the  recreation  without  the 
attendant  evils. 


*See  Section  13  "Recreation" 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 


13 


OUR  TOWN 
THE  OPPOSING  FORCES 


Insert  photo- 
graph of  bad 
conditions 


Insert  photograph 
of  church,  home; 
school,  etc. 


WHAT  IS  THE  RESULT? 
Bear  in  Mind 

Agencies  of  evil 

Are  open  all  day 

All  organized 

Advertise 

Satisfy  natural  instincts  while  debasing 

Agencies  of  good 

Run  part  time 

Fight  each  other  often 

Are  not  well  looked  after 

Do  not  advertise 

Often  repress  where  they  should  satisfy 


WHAT  ARE  THE  REMEDIES? 

Regulate  the  movies 

Set  age  limit  for  pool  room  patrons 

Develop  healthful  activities 

Keep  church  and  schoolhouse  open 

Develop  municipal  recreation 

Boost  Boy  Scouts,  Y.  M.  G.  A.,  Y.  W.  G.  A.,  etc. 


PLATE   II 


14        SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


8.     Consolidation* 

Many  states  have  found  that  the  consolidation  of  school  districts  forms 
an  opportunity  for  offering  better  school  facilities  to  country  children  than 
can  be  obtained  in  the  single  district  school.  There  are  many  advantages 
and  some  objections  to  this  method.  A  full  brief  for  a  debate  on  this  sub- 
ject, will  be  found  in  the  Educational  News  Bulletin  for  May  1916,  which 
may  be  secured  from  the  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Madison, 
Wisconsin. 

Make  a  study  of  the  jiearby  school  districts  which  might  be  consolidated. 
Find  out  the  present  cost  of  each  for  operating  purposes.  Add  these  costs 
together  to  find  out  the  expense  of  running  the  schools  separately.  Now, 
compute  the  cost  of  running  a  single  consolidated  school,  adding  transpor- 
tation expenses,  if  necessary. 

Consolidation  is  ordinarily  more  expensive,  but  provides  better  teachers, 
gives  better  grading,  more  individual  instruction  and  generally  makes  a 
better  school  than  the  old  system. 

9.    Vacation  Employment  for  Children 

The  vacation  period  of  a  child's  school  year  may  be  made  most  valuable, 
but  often  is  merely  a  time  of  loafing  with  not  enough  healthful  activity  to 
keep  the  child  happy  and  well.  Many  children  would  be  glad  to  do  some 
light  work  for  the  summer  and  earn  a  little  money,  or  would  be  interested 
in  gardening  and  other  such  activities.  As  the  teachers  are  away  from  town 
during  the  summer,  the  parent-teacher  association  has  a  large  field  of 
useful  activity  in  this  direction. 

Make  a  study  of  the  vacation  occupations  of  the  children  in  the  com- 
munity. Find  from  all  the  parents  of  the  children  in  one  grade  (7th  or  8th) 
how  their  children  spend  their  summer  time. 

Can  a  club  committee  constitute  itself  an  employment  bureau,  either 
to  find  or  to  make  remunerative  employment  for  such  children  as  desire  it 
through  the  summer  months?  Do  farmers  who  have  good  homes  want  the 
older  boys  as  helpers  during  part  or  all  of  the  summer?  Farm  experience 
is  good  for  a  boy,  provided  he  is  well  cared  for  and  not  required  to  do  work 
too  great  for  his  strength. 

Within  the  town  limits,  children  may  be  given  employment  running 
errands,  sewing  or  cooking,  caring  for  home  gardens  and  selling  the  prod- 
ucts, etc.  etc.  Discuss  possibilities  in  this  direction. 

Bibliography 

J.  Adams  Pufer,  "Vocational  Guidance" 

John  M.  Gillet,  "Constructive  Rural  Sociology" 

E.  J.  Ward,  Alderman,  "The  Social  Center." 

"School  Credit  for  Home  Work" 

U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  Americanization  Letters 

J.  B.  Davis,  "Vocational  Guidance" 

(Also  sef.  Township  Library  List,  pages  14-15.) 


*This  topic  may  be  omitted  in  districts  where  this  issue  is  not  pressing. 


SECTION  II.     THE  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


Xote:  The  school  census  includes  children  from  4  to  20  inclusive.  Those  from  7 
to  14,  or  15  to  16  not  working,  are  legally  required  to  attend  school  (For  exceptions, 
see  School  Code).  Children  oelow  this,  while  legally  permitted  to  attend  school, 
should  not  attend  except  in  cases  where  there  are  kindergartens. 


1.    The  Census 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  work  of  the  schools  with  reference  to  various 
groups  of  children,  it  is  necessary  first  to  make  a  numerical  study  of  the 
number  of  children  involved  and  the  different  classes  into  which  they  di- 
vide themselves.  In  making  this  study,  it  may  be  well  to  use  cards  for 
the  names  of  children  for  convenience  in  separating  and  counting.  (See 
appendix  on  method.) 

Get  a  copy  of  the  school  census  from  the  teacher,  principal,  or  super- 
intendent. Classify  the  children  as  follows:* 

Total          Boys        Girls 

Total  given  by  census (1458)  (706)  (752) 

Number  who  have  left  the  district  since  census (24)  (15)  (9) 

Number  who  have  moved  into  district  since  census (32)  (16)  (16) 

Number,  if  any,  omitted  by  census (0) 

Revised  total,  boys  and  girls  in  district (1466)  (707)  (759) 

a.  Number  not  attending  school  (too  young) (155)  (83)  (72) 

b.  Number  attending  local  schools (634)         (310)         (324) 

c.  Number  7  to  14  (and  15  to  16  not  working)  not 

enrolled (21)  (8)  (13) 

d.  Number  attending  higher  schools  outside  district....  (14)  (3)  (11) 

e.  Number  attending  private  or  parochial  schools (133)  (60)  (73) 

f.  Number  not  attending  school  not  doing  anything....  (202)  (69)  (133) 

g.  Number  working — total (307)  (174)  (133) 

Farm  hand (96)  (87)  (9) 

Clerk (11)  (2)  (9) 

Stenographer 

Etc.,  etc.  (list  other  occupations) 

Something  may  be  told  about  the  conditions  of  schools  from  these 
figures  and  per  cents.  If  a  great  many  children  are  not  attending  school 
without  engaging  in  some  other  useful  occupation,  it  means  that  the 
schools  are  not  holding  pupils  as  they  should.  If  there  are  a  large  number 
working,  it  speaks  well  for  the  financial  responsibility  of  the  children  but 
may  mean  that  they  are  not  getting  the  education  which  they  should  have. 
Discuss  the  bearings  of  these  figures  fully. 

Make  a  circle  or  bar  graph,  (see  appendix)  divided  in  parts,  to  show 
these  facts,  with  per  cents  in  each  group,  a  to  g.  Group  b  should  be  60 
per  cent  of  the  total  or  more  (in  1912-13  it  was  55.6  per  cent  of  the  total 
state  census,  in  1913-14,  56.2  per  cent  of  the  total  census). 

Make  a  list  of  the  individual  names  coming  under  each  classification. 

*Numbers  in  tables  in  the  course  of  this  chapter  are  intended  to  indicate  an  in- 
dividual instance,  or  the  figures  for  the  state  as  a  whole  From  them,  you  can  see 
how  figures  should  add  and  check. 


16         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


2.    Reasons  for  Not  Attending  School 

Take  list  c,  topic  1    (number  7  to.  14  not  enrolled)  and  determine  in 
each  case  why  children  are  not  attending. 

Girls 


Total 

Number  with  physical  defects 

Number  defective  mentally 

Number  of  truants 

Number  taught  at  home 

Other  causes  (specify)' 


Total 
(21 


8 
(0 


Boys 


(1) 


Make  a  graphic  representation  of  this.  What  things  are  valid  and  what 
might  be  eliminated?  Make  a  list  of  valid  causes  for  nonenrollment  in 
school  (physical  or  mental  defects,  taught  at  home,  etc.).  What  can  be 
done,  where  causes  for  nonenrollment  do  not  seem  valid,  to  bring  children 
back  to  the  school? 

3.    Industries  and  Training* 

The  children  who  have  left  school  to  go  to  work  (list  g  topic  1)  should 
be  studied  to  determine  what  sort  of  work  they  are  engaged  in,  howj  large 
a  part  school  training  plays  in  securing  good  wages  and  how'many  children 
would  benefit  by  further  school  experience. 

When  children  leave  school  before  the  close  oHiigh  school,  it  is  frequently 
the  case  that  they  fall  into  "blind  alley"  jobs  where  the  pay  to  begin  with 
is  fairly  good,  but  where  there  is  little  prospect  of  continuous  advancement. 
Many  children  will  be  found  in  industries  who  could  and  should  be  kept 
in  school  and  some  will  be  found  in  occupations  which  tax  them  beyon  d 
their  strength. 

Take  list  g,  topic  1  (number  of  children  working).  Make  for  each 
occupation  listed  there  a  table  like  this : 


Industry 


(clerk) 


No.  Em- 
ployed 


(11)      Boys  (2)       Girls 


(9) 


Total 

No 
Pay 

Less 
than  $4 
wk. 

$4-7.99 

$8-11.99 

$12-^ 
$15.99 

$16 

Total 

(11) 

(2*) 

(3) 

(4) 

d) 

(1) 

No  school 

(D 

(1**) 

Left  under  4th  grade 

(4) 

(D 

(2) 

d) 

Left     school      5-6th 
grade 

(2) 

(D 

(D 

Left     school       7-8th 
grade 

d) 

(1) 

Some  H.  S.  work 

(2) 

dt) 

d) 

Grad.  H.  S. 

d) 

d) 

Some  Coll.  work 

Notes: 


(*Working   for   father     **Not  steady   employment     t  Works   part  time 
also  attends  school)  etc.  etc. 


*Use  bulletin  "Seattle  Children  in  School  and  Industry."    See  introduction. 


THE  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  17 

Is  there  any  relation  between  amount  of  school  training  and  amount 
of  pay  received  for  persons  twenty  years  of  age  or  under,  i.  e.,  does  the 
person  with  more  school  training  receive  better  wages?  It  may  be  found 
that  for  people  under  twenty,  this  is  not  the  case,  as  the  boy  who  leaves 
school  early  is  apt  to  get  fair  pay  when  starting  in. 

Of  the  boys  and  girls  studied  under  this  topic,  how  many  are  in  "blind 
alley"  jobs?  Plow  many  have  prospects  of  advancement?  How  many 
could  go  to  school  full  time,  how  many  part  time?  Can  the  club  help  in 
getting  them  to  do  so?* 

4.    Why  Leave  School  and  Do  Nothing? 

If  there  is  no  financial  pressure,  there  is  every  reason  why  children  under 
high  school  graduation,  or  even  later  than  this,  should  keep  on  with  their 
school  work.  Take  list  f,  topic  1,  to  find  out  how  many  people  listed  in 
the  census  are  not  attending  school  or  doing  useful  work.  Make  a  table  to 
show  at  what  age  these  people  dropped  school  and  at  what  grade.  Secure 
the  reasons  why  these  boys  and  girls  are  not  keeping  on  with  school.  If 
they  "don't  like  school,"  why  not?  Such  opinions  as  this  often  contain 
valid  criticisms  of  the  school  system  and  suggestions  for  its  improvement. 
If  financial  reasons  prevent  going  on  to  college  in  the  case  of  some  of  this 
group,  what  encouragement  can  be  given  them  to  work  their  own  way? 
(See  section  15,  "Higher  Educational  Organizations")  What  other  reasons 
given  can  be  remedied? 

5.    Enrollment  and  Attendance 

In  the  annual  report  to  the  Department  of  Public  Instruction  made  by 
the  principal  or  superintendent  will  be  found  the  enrollment  in  the  local 
schools  and  also  the  average  daily  attendance  by  pupils.  This  varies  greatly 
in  different  schools.  In  no  school  should  it  be  less  than  90  per  cent  of  the 
.enrollment.  (For  the  cities  of  the  state,  it  was  89  per  cent  in  1914-15;. 

The  child  who  does  not  attend  school  regularly  misses  a  great  part  of 
the  school  advantages.  Let  each  member  of  the  club  look  up  the  attendance 
of  her  own  child  or  children  to  see  what  per  cent  this  was  of  the  total  days 
in  the  term.  What  were  the  reasons  for  nonattendance? 

There  are  many  valid  reasons  for  nonattendance,  many  cases  where  it 
is  better  to  stay  away  than  to  attend  school.  Obtain  from  the  teacher  a 
list  of  excuses  that  have  been  made  in  her  room  during  the  past  month  or 
two  months  and  analyze  these  to  determine  what  main  reasons  keep 
children  away  from  school. 

In  schools  where  there  is  a  great  deal  of  absence,  discussion  of  the  value 
of  attendance  should"  be  carried  on,  as  it  is  impossible  for  the  school  to 
work  effectively  for  the  benefit  of  the  child  if  the  child  does  not  attend 
school  regularly.  Discuss  what  can  be  done  by  the  club  to  remedy  the 
poor  attendance  in  cases  where  this  is  found. 

6.    Distance  of  Children  From  School 

It  will  be  found  a  valuable  study  to  analyze  the  map  of  the  district  for  the 
location  of  children  of  the  various  groups  mentioned  in  topic  1  of  this 

*For  a  study  of  continuation  school  work,  see  section  12,  industrial  work. 


18         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

section.  This  will  give  data  for  the  location  of  the  school  building  in  case 
a  new  building  is  being  discussed. 

For  this  study,  get  or  make  a  map  of  the  school  district,  showing 
roads  and  natural  landmarks.  Place  on  this  map  dots  for  the  location  of 
children,  blue  for  those  under  school  age,  green  for  those  attending  school, 
red  for  those  excused,  black  for  those  who  have  left  school,  etc. 

A  possible  variation  of  this  would  be  to  make  a  circle  for  each  home 
and  inside  the  circle  place  the  colored  dots  for  the  number  of  children  con- 
tained therein.  Such  a  study  as  this  would  be  of  value  as  a  social  survey, 
showing  the  average  number  of  children  per  family,  number  of  families 
with  no  children,  etc.  etc. 

With  schoolhouse  as  a  center  draw  on  the  town  map  light  pencil  circles, 
representing  one-half  mile,  one  mile,  one  and  one-half  mile,  and  two  mile 
distances.  Is  the  school  well  located  to  serve  all  children  enrolled? 

Are  there  any  children  living  over  two  miles  from  school?  Such  children 
are  by  law  exempted  from  school  attendance  except  in  districts  furnishing 
transportation.  In  the  state,  however,  most  of  such  children  attend  school. 
Is  this  the  case  in  the  local  district? 

Good  roads  are  a  source  of  good  school  attendance.  What  is  the  condi- 
tion of  the  roads  in  the  locality  and  if  they  are  poor,  what  can  be  done  to 
make  them  better? 

7.    Over  Age 

One  of  the  greatest  problems  of  the  school  is  the  child  who  is  above  the 
normal  age  in  a  given  grade.  In  most  schools  will  be  found  children  of  12, 
13,  or  14,  who  are  far  below  the  grade  in  which  they  should  be  according 
to  their  age.  Some  schools  promote  children  by  age  rather  than  by  grades 
(notably,  Hibbing,  Minn,  and  to  some  extent,  Milwaukee,  Wis.)  and  this 
method  is  found  to  involve  no  poorer  work  on  the  part  of  the  children  pro- 
moted. It  is  questionable  whether  the  average  child  in  a  second  year  ol 
work  in  a  single  grade  gets  enough  advantage  to  warrant  the  loss  of  the 
year.  Over  age  has  for  its  only  excuse  mental  deficiency  on  the  part  of  the 
child.  Some  of  the  means  of  avoiding  it  are  described  in  plate  III. 

List  b,  topic  1,  gives  the  total  school  enrollment.  Separate  into  grades 
and  ages  according  to  this  form: 


THE^SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


19 


Total 

4 

5 

9 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20  yrs.  or  over 

Total  

420 

6 

6 

27 

21 

19 

32 

35 

49 

41 

40 

35 

33 

32 

24 

9 

13 

4 

Grade  1  ,  

30 

.... 

21 

2 

1 

Grade  2 

9 

3 

4 

2 

Grade  3  

69 

3 

15 

15 

19 

14 

2 

1 

Grade  4  

39 

2 

8 

13 

12 

3 

1 

Grade  5 

36 

4 

6 

14 

10 

1 

1 

Grade  6 

29 

2 

13 

6 

6 

2 

Grade  7 

26 

6 

6 

8 

5 

1 

Grade  8 

39 

2 

10 

10 

11 

4 

1 

1 

Grade  9  

53 

5 

13 

12 

8 

7 

7 

1 

Grade  10  

25 

2 

3 

12 

6 

2 

Grade  11  

36 

7 

9 

9 

4 

0 

1 

Grade  12  

29 

1 

9 

7 

4 

6 

3 

Make  separate  tables  for  boys  and  girls,  as  well  as  totals,  if  possible.  See 
Wisconsin  Biennial  Report  1912-14,  pages  127-129,  for  state  wide  figures. 
In  your  table  leave  out  kindergarten,  ungraded  and  special  students. 
Draw  a  circle  around  the  number  of  children  who  are  six  years  old  in  the 
first  grade,  7  years  old  in  the  second,  8  years  old  in  the  third,  etc. — children 
who  are  of  normal  age.* 

Now  make  a  table  as  follows:  (This  table  interprets  state  data  1913-14). 

OVER  AGE  TABLE  WISCONSIN  CITY  SCHOOLS  1913-14 


Total 

Under  Age 

Normal 

Over  age 

No. 
143733 

Percent 
100 

No. 

Per  cent 

No. 

Percent 

No. 

Per  cent 

Total  

16024 

11.2 

51209 

35.6 

76500 

53.2 

Grade  1  

22213 

100 

3055 

13.8 

10451 

47.0 

8707 

39.2 

Grade  2  

16520 

100 

1881 

11.4 

6948 

42.2 

7691 

46.4 

Grade  3  

15861 

100 

1663 

10.4 

5932 

37.5 

8266 

52.1 

Grade  4  

15140 

100 

1330 

8.6 

5207 

34.5 

8603 

56.9 

Grade  5  

14575 

100 

1257 

8.6 

4303 

29.6 

9015 

61.8 

Grade  6  

13082 

100 

1215 

9.3 

3676 

28.2 

8191 

62.5 

Grade  7  

11728 

100 

1033 

8.8 

3254 

27.8 

7441 

63.4 

Grade  8 

10178 

100 

1060 

10.2 

3115 

30.7 

6003 

59.1 

Grade  9 

9283 

100 

1220 

12.9 

3281 

35.4 

4782 

51.7 

Grade  10 

6085 

100 

963 

15.8 

1815 

29.8 

3307 

54.4 

Grade  11  . 

5008 

100 

757 

15.1 

1751 

35.0 

2500 

49.9 

Grade  12  

4060 

100 

590 

14.5 

1476 

36.4 

1994 

49.1 

*Some  authorities  prefer  using  two  years  instead  of  one,  for  the  normal  age,  e.  g. 
6  and  7  in  first  grade,  7  and  8  in  second,  etc.  Either  procedure  may  be  followed 
here. 


20 


SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


THE  CHILD  WHO  IS  OVER  AGE 


Gets  discouraged 
Drops  school 
Learns  little 
Is  harder  to  discipline 


IN  OUR  SCHOOLS  THERE  ARE 


THE  REMEDIES  ARE 


Good  attendance 

Good  instruction 

Good  discipline 

Individual  instruction 

Summer  or  vacation  schools 

Ungraded  rooms 

Good  supervision 

Not  too  many  pupils  per  teacher 

Cooperation  between  home  and  school 

Good  course  of  study 

Will  to  ^promote  in  teachers 


PLATE  III 


THE  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  21 

Graph  the  over  age  pupil  by  numbers  and  also  by  per  cents.  Compare 
with  the  state  figures,  also  with  those  given  in  the  city  report  of  La  Crosse 
for  1914—15.  Make  a  chart  showing  blocks  representing  those  normal  or 
under  age  in  outline,  and  those  over  age  black.  (See  Plate  III).  Study  to 
find  a  connection  between  over  age  and  dropping  out  of  school. 

8.     Non-Promotions 

The  question  of  non-promotions  is  closely  allied  to  that  of  over  age,  and 
yet  it  is  not  the  same  because  some  children  are  over  age  from  having 
entered  school  late,  while  the  subject  of  non-promotions  shows  retarda- 
tions many  of  which  could  be  helped  by  the  school  itself. 

This  study  has  been  worked  out  in  detail  as  a  sample  study  in  the  ap- 
pendix on  method.  The  procedure  followed  there  will  show  details  of  the 
way  to  make  a  local  study.  Make  tables  by  grades,  fill  in  with  the 
figures  from  the  last  promotion  time.  Graph  as  in  topic  7,  discuss  the 
meaning  of  these  figures,  and  possible  remedies. 

Get  the  total  per  cent  of  children  failed  during  one  year,  and  the  total 
cost  of  running  the  school  for  that  year.  What  proportion  of  school  cost 
goes  toward  providing  for  the  instruction  of  children  who  are  repeating 
grades?  This  amount  will  make  an  effective  argument  for  seeking  to  re- 
duce the  number  of  failures. 


SECTION    III.       PUPIL    HEALTH    AND    HYGIENE 


1.      General  Remarks 

The  best  service  that  parents  can  render  to  the  schools  is  to  send  to 
them  children  with  sound  minds  in  sound  bodies.  The  child  who  is 
not  well  cannot  attend  school  regularly.  When  he  does  attend,  he  is 
greatly  handicapped  in  the  learning  process,  and  this  handicap  is  not 
felt  by  him  alone,  but  extends  to  all  the  children  in  the  room.  It  is 
not  only  diseases  ordinarily  termed  "catching"  which  are  contagious,  but 
also  the  attitude  of  health  or  disease.  Each  parent  should  see  to  it  that 
so  far  as  possible  that  his  or  her  child  has  a  healthy  body  and  healthy  out- 
look on  the  world;  is  not  eternally  dosed  with  medicine,  nor  neglected  as  to 
medical  or  surgical  treatment,  but  is  given  such  healthful  surroundings 
that  a  sound  condition  of  his  body,  which  is  its  natural  state,  will  develop 
naturally.  (See  Plate  IV). 

Health  is  at  all  times  to  be  kept  in  mind  throughout  the  study  of  this 
section,  and  not  disease.  The  child  who  has  physical  defects  must  be 
sought  out  and  studied  in  order  that  he  may  be  cured.  But  there  is  great 
danger  in  such  a  study  as  this  that  the  idea  of  disease  will  be  dwelt  on  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  more  important  idea  of  health.  As  the  Wisconsin 
State  Board  of  Health  says  in  its  "Rules  Relating  to  the  Sanitary  Care  of 
Schools,"  "sunshine,  pure  air,  good  food,  and  cleanliness  are  the  best  aids 
to  good  health." 

Get  from  the  teacher  in  each  grade  the  number  of  days  which  have 
been  missed  during  the  past  month  or  year  on  account  of  ill  health.  How 
many  children  are  there  in  the  grades  who  have  not  for  a  year  or  more 
missed  a  single  day  from  school  on  account  of  sickness?  It  is  well  to  re- 
ward children  with  such  good  records  as  these  with  a  prize  of  some  sort. 

2.    Nutrition — The  School  Lunch 

Sufficient  nourishment  of  the  right  sort  makes  the  child  immune  to 
much  contagion  and  infection.  Nutrition  is  as  great  a  factor  as  can  be 
mentioned  in  the  attainment  of  perfect  health.  Using  the  U.  S.  Farmers' 
bulletin,  "School  Lunches"  as  a  standard,  determine  whether  individual 
children  whose  parents  are  members  of  the  club  are  obtaining  sufficient 
nourishment.  Get  the  teacher,  on  a  certain  day  (the  selection  of  which  is 
not  known  beforehand)  to  have  the  children  write  out  in  school,  without 
signing  names,  exactly  what  they  ate  at  home  for  the  noon  lunch.  Are  there 
any  that  had  no  lunch?  Any  whose  lunches  were  obviously  insufficient  or 
poorly  selected?  Pick  out  a  number  of  the  best  lunches  and  place  them  on  a 

*The  topic  of  health  is  one  on  which  any  number  of  bulletin  and  book  helps  may 
be  secured  easily.  The  outline  here  has  therefore  been  made  brief  and  suggestive 
only,  as  associations  can  easily  secure  much  printed  material. 


PUPIL  HEALTH  AND  HYGIENE 


23 


HEALTH  CRUSADER'S  PLEDGE 
/  will: 

— Venerate  my  body,  but  not  baby  it! 

—Keep  it  clean  with  soap,  water,  and  fresh  air. 

—Keep  my  mind  clean  and  upon  healthful  out-door  life 
and  sports. 

— Let  the  air  and  sunlight  come  freely  into  the  house  I  live 
in  and  the  building  I  work  in. 

—Work  hard  and  play  hard. 

And  remember  always,  that  to  fulfill  God's  purpose,  a  human 
being  is  entitled  to  living  and  working  conditions  at  least 
as  good  as  are  required  by  productive  poultry  and  dairy 
animals. 

HEALTH  BEFORE  EVERYTHING  ELSE 


WISCONSIN  ANTI  TUBERCULOSIS  ASSOCIATION.  MILWAUKEE.  WISCONSIN 


PLATE  IV 


Copies  of  the  chart  from  which  this  plate  has  been  photographed  may  be  secur 
from  the  Wisconsin  Anti-Tuberculosis  Association,  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  T 
chart  is  20x25  inches. 


24        SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

chart  as  models  for  the  home  lunch,  or,  in  case  children  eat  at  school,  the 
school  lunch.  (See  plates  V  and  VI.  Menus  are  taken  from  U.  S.  bulletin 
"School  Lunches.")  Make  the  same  study  with  regard  to  the  child's  break- 
fast or  supper.  * 

It  has  been  found  that  children  in  the  lower  grades  do  school  work  much 
better  if  they  have  a  light  lunch  in  the  middle  of  the  forenoon,  such  as 
crackers  and  milk  or  cocoa.  Work  out  the  cost  of  such  a  lunch  per  day, 
if  instituted  in  the  lower  grades,  and  also  the  cost  per  parent  per  month. 
May  it  not  be  well  for  the  mothers  involved,  to  try  out  this  system  for  a 
month  or  so  with  the  consent  of  the  school  board 'to  see  how  it  works  out? 
In  case  it  is  successful,  the  school  board  will  be  likely  to  take  it  up  as  a 
permanent  thing. 

Make  a  study  of  the  number  of  children  in  the  local  school  who  carry 
their  lunch  to  school  to  eat  at  noon.  In  case  there  are  large  numbers  of  chil- 
dren, the  club  will  want  to  consider  the  hot  noon  lunch  or  the  "penny 
lunch."  From  your  knowledge  of  marketing,  of  children's  appetite  s,  and 
of  the  cost  of  preparation  of  a  lunch,  work  out  a  schedule  of  prices  at  which 
nourishing  articles  of  diet  might  be  sold  to  children  at  noon.  Will  the 
domestic  science  classes  take  this  in  charge,  and  the  mothers  help  with 
financing  of  the  procedure?  The  hot  school  lunch  is  often  found  a  most 
valuable  activity  to  institute  in  a  school. 

3.    Sleep  and  Fresh  Air 

The  growing  child  in  the  grades  should  have  at  least  ten  hours  sleep. 
Late  hours,  many  moving  picture  shows,  and  poor  ventilation  are  direct 
enemies  of  pupil  efficiency  in  school.  What  are  the  conditions  in  your 
locality,  and  how  can  they  be  remedied? 

Make  a  study  of  your  own  children  and  those  of  various  other  club 
members  to  see  how  many  hours  of  sleep  each  gets  every  night  per  week. 
How  many  have  less  than  seven  hours  sleep?  How  many  have  seven  hours, 
eight,  nine,  ten,  and  over  ten  hours  of  sleep?  What  are  the  obstacles  to 
prevent  the  children  with  insufficient  sleep  from  getting  more? 

What  conditions  obtain  in  the  sleeping  rooms  for  your  children?  Are 
children  encouraged  to  open  the  windows?  Do  they  have  a  warm  place 
to  dress  in  during  the  winter?  Are  there  always  sufficient  bedclothes  above 
and  below  children?  Is  the  necessity  for  fresh  air  recognized  and  met? 

In  connection  with  this,  find  how  many  children  study  at  home  in  the 
evening.  Do  these  children  sleep  as  well  as  the  others?  Do  they  ever  com- 
plain of  headaches?  Can  something  be  done  to  take  away  the  necessity 
for  evening  study  on  their  part? 

4.    Teeth,  Hair,  Eyes,  Ears,  etc. 

Teeth 

One  county  in  Wisconsin  multiplied  the  number  of  children  using  tooth- 
brushes by  two  in  two  years,  simply  by  making  a  study  each  year  of  the 
number  who  were  using  this  instrument  and  encouraging  the  spread  of 

*In  the  preparation  of  this  topic  for  the  school  exhibit,  it  will  be  well  to  have 
eatables  prepared  for  the  various  school  lunches  and  grouped  attractively  under 
the  chart  as  object  lessons  in  lunch  preparation. 


PUPIL  HEALTH  AND  HYGIENE  25 


GOOD  HOME  LUNCH  MENUS 


Poached  eggs,  bread  and  butter,  spinach  or  other  greens,  cake 


Beef  stew  with  vegetables,  milk,  tea  biscuits,  honey 


Dried  bean  or  pea  puree,  toast,  baked  apple,  cookies 


Vegetable  soup,  zwieback,  rice  with  maple  sugar  and  butter  or 
with  milk  or  cream 


Potato  chowder,  cracker?,  jelly  sandwiches 


Cold  meat,  creamed  potatoes,  bread  and  butter,  frozen  custard 
and  plain  cake 


Lamb  chop,  baked  potatoes,  bread  and  butter,  sliced  mixed 
fruits,  cookies 


DON'T  THEY  MAKE  YOU  HUNGRY? 


PLATE  V 


26         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


GOOD  SCHOOL  LUNCH  MENUS 


Sandwiches  with  sliced  tender  meat  for  filling,   baked  apple, 

cookies 


Slices  of  meat  loaf,  bread  and  butter  sandwiches,  stewed  fruit, 
small  frosted  cake 


Lettuce  or  celery  sandwiches,  cup  custard,  jelly  sandwiches 


Cottage  cheese  and  chopped  green  pepper  sandwiches,  peanut 
sandwiches,  fruit,  cake 


Raisin  or  nut  bread  with  butter,  cheese,  orange,  maple  sugar 


Baked  bean  and  lettuce  sandwiches,  apple  sauce,  sweet  chocolate 


DON'T  THEY  MAKE  YOU  HUNGRY? 


PLATE  VI 


PUPIL  HEALTH  AND  HYGIENE  27 

its  use.  "Tooth  Brush  Drills"  are  held  in  many  large  cities.  If  the  children 
eat  their  lunches  at  school,  this  is  a  good  time  to  have  them  practice 
cleanliness  of  the  mouth;  if  at  home,  mothers  must  cooperate  to  have  this 
work  done. 

Does  your  child  own  a  toothbrush  and  use  it  regularly?  Consult  with 
the  teacher  as  to  the  advisability  of  having  a  dentist  come  to  the  school  to 
examine  the  teeth  of  children.  This  would  not  necessitate  the  same  den- 
tist's doing  the  repair  work,  but  would  show  to  what  extent  attention  to 
the  teeth  is  necessary  in  the  grades.  Some  large  toothpaste  manufacturers 
have  special  bulletins  and  offers  for  schools. 

Eyes 

How  many  of  the  children  in  the  various  grades  wear  glasses?  Ask  a 
teacher  to  report,  or  with  her  permission,  visit  and  observe  how  many 
children  hold  their  reading  books  in  reading  lesson  close  to  their  eyes,  how 
many  squint,  and  how  many  seem  unable  to  see  the  front  board  clearly. 
If  possible,  get  an  eye  chart  from  the  nearest  optician  and  have  the  teacher 
test  the  eyes  of  the  children  with  it. 

Frequently  the  lighting  of  the  school  as  well  as  the  lighting  at  home  is  a 
source  of  eye  trouble.*  The  child  should-not  sit  near  an  unshaded  lamp 
or  globe  to  read  or  study.  Get  a  few  of  the  more  careful  mothers  and  teach- 
ers to  tell  how  they  look  out  for  the  eye  health  of  their  children. 

Ears 

Some  tests  may  be  conducted  with  the  hearing  of  the  children.  This 
is  ordinarily  less  of  a  problem  than  eyesight  in  the  lower  grades.  Some- 
times, however,  it  is  found  that  what  is  supposed  to  be  stupidity  in  a  child 
is  really  defective  hearing.  This  makes  it  most  necessary  to  determine 
which  of  the  children  need  special  attention  in  this  regard. 

General  Cleanliness 

Through  discussion,  decide  on  the  extent  to  which  a  child  may  keep 
always  clean  and  neat.  Is  it  possible  that  children  will  always  be  clean? 
Can  ragged  clothes  always  be  avoided?  Is  it  possible  to  guard  against 
contagion  of  vermin,  etc.,  at  all  times? 

Bring  out  the  fact  that  it  is  only  through  a  general  standard  of  neatness 
in  all  the  children  in  a  schoolroom  that  any  one  child  can  be  kept  clean 
and  neat.  The  single  child  with  vermin  may  communicate  this  pest  to 
many  of  the  other  children  in  the  room,  who  would  not  otherwise  be  con- 
taminated. If  there  are  bad  conditions  along  these  lines,  they  may  be 
remedied  by  suggestions  made  by  the  teacher,  by  handkerchief  drills, 
regular  "clean-ups"  by  the  children  at  some  given  time  during  the  school 
session,  or  in  extreme  cases,  by  rulings  of  the  school  board. 

5.    Communicable  Diseases 

Study  the  rules  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  relating  to  school  children 
and  diseases.  Notice  especially  the  outline^of  suggestions  to  teachers 
quoted  here: 

*See  Section  IV,  Physical  Conditions. 


28         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

"1.  Teachers  should  remember  that  infection  enters  and  leaves  the 
body  in  the  secretions  of  the  mouth,  nose,  throat,  intestines  and  through 
the  skin. 

"2.  Sunshine,  pure  air,  good  food,  exercise  and  cleanliness  are  the  best 
aids  to  good  health. 

"3.  The  exchange  or  borrowing  of  all  articles  which  might  be  us?d  in 
common,  such  as  pencils,  penholders  and  slates,  which  are  liable  to  be 
soiled  with  secretions  of  the  eye,  nose  or  mouth  should  be  prohibited. 

"4.  When  diphtheria  or  scarlet  fever  is  present  in  the  community,  all 
children  with  sore  throats  or  discharging  noses  or  ears  should  be  excluded 
from  school,  and  no  child  returning  to  school,  after  an  attack,  with  dis- 
charging nose  or  ears  or  without  a  permit  from  the  health  officer  should 
be  allowed  to  remain. 

"6.  When  measles  is  present  in  the  community,  all  children  showing 
symptoms  of  a  marked  cold  in  the  head  should  be  immediately  excluded 
from  school. 

"7.    All  children  with  whooping  cough  should  be  kept  at  home." 

6.   The  School  Nurse 

Many  cities  and  counties  of  Wisconsin  find  that  it  pays  to  employ  a 
school  nurse  to  look  after  the  health  of  the  school  children,  visit  homes 
where  visiting  is  needed  and  call  the  attention  of  parents  to  conditions 
which  should  be  remedied.  Often  because  a  community  is  itself  small, 
it  feels  that  it  cannot  afford  a  school  nurse,  but  by  combining  with  other 
communities,  all  can  reap  the  benefit  of  this  public  official.  Some  women's 
clubs  in  the  east  have  employed  a  school  nurse  for  a  month  to  demon- 
strate her  usefulness,  and  the  school  board  has  continued  the  employment. 
Literature  on  this  subject  may  be  obtained  from  the  Wisconsin  Anti- 
Tuberculosis  Society,  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 

Have  the  local  physician  or  health  board  member  address  the  club  on 
the  subject  of  keeping  well.  The  University  Extension  Division  and  the 
Anti-Tuberculosis  Society  also  send  out  speakers  in  this  field. 


SECTION  IV.    PHYSICAL  CONDITIONS* 


Note:  In  dealing  with  the  topics  under  this  section,  three  free  bulletins  should  be 
made  special  use  of.  These  are  "Rules  Relating  to  the  Sanitary  Care  of  Schools," 
Wisc9nsin  State  Board  of  Health,  Madison,  and  the  two  building  C9des,  for  new 
buildings,  and  for  existing  buildings,  issued  by  the  Industrial  Commission.  Madison, 
Wisconsin.  The  State  Department  of  Public  Instruction  has  in  preparation  a 
bulletin  on  this  subject. 

This  section  quotes  freely  from  the  rules  of  all  and  has  included  also  material 
which  none  of  these  pamphlets  as  yet  include.  The  rules  mentioned  in  these  three 
pamphlets  have  the  force  of  law,  although  a  number  of  them  are  advisory  rather 
than  mandatory. 

The  subject  of  physical  conditions  in  the  schoolroom  is  one  which  affects  every 
child,  parent,  and  teacher.  None  of  the  children  can  be  healthy  or  can  do  the  best 
work  if  they  go  to  school  in  a  building  whose  physical  conditions  are  bad.  None 
of  the  teachers  can  do  the  best  teaching  work  in  such  a  building.  None  of  the 
parents  should  tolerate  conditions  other  than  the  best,  except  where  the  local 
situation  makes  it  inexpedient  to  advance  too  rapidly. 

1.  Location 

A.  Standard.     "All  sites  should  be  dry  and  should  contain  space 
sufficient  for  ample  and  suitable  playground.     High  ground  should  be 
selected  wherever  possible.     Made  land  or  land  impregnated  with  organic 
matter  should  not  be  selected.     No  part  of  a  school  site  should  be  within 
500  feet  of  a  steam  railroad  or  manufacturing  plants,  which  may  be 
sources  of  noise  or  smoke,  swampy  places,  livery  stables,  saloons,  or  other 
buildings  which  may  be  sources  of  unhealthful  conditions."!     The  size 
should  be  for  a  city  at  least  300  feet  square,  for  a  rural  school  not  less 
than  one  acre;  for  any  schocl  not  more  than  20  per  cent  of  ground  should 
be  used  for  building  and  80  per  cent  should  consist  of  playground  and 
yards. 

B.  Comparison.     Give   reasons   for   these   standards.     Compare   the 
local  school  in  detail  with  them.     Is  the  school  located  on  high  ground? 
What  sort  of  soil  is  the  formation?      (Consult  local  surveyor  for  plan 
of  plot  and  information  as  to  ground  conditions,  etc.)     Study  the  drainage 
of  the  school  site  to  be  sure  that  it  is  healthful  as  a  location  for  a  school. 
Make  a  diagram  of  the  school  building,  together  with  land  500  feet  dis- 
tant ort  each  side.     Plot  homes,  stores,  street  car  tracks,  or  other  i,tems 
of  evironment.     If  unfavorable  conditions  are  found,  can  anything  be 
done? 

2.  Building 

A.  Standard.  The  ground  floor  of  the  school  building  should  be  at 
least  three  feet  above  the  ground  level.  All  brick  school  buildings  and 
others,  if  possible,  should  have  a  well-lighted,  dry  basement  under  the 
schoolhouse.  Basements  should  be  9  feet  high  in  the  clear  and  at  least 
4^  feet  of  this  should  come  above  the  grade  line.  The  basement  should 
not  be  used  for  classrooms,  but  may  be  used  for  industrial  work,  for 
district  gatherings,  etc. 

*See  "Standard  One-teacher  School"  in  State  Common  School  Manual,  Dept. 
of  Public  Instruction. 

tQuoted  from  the  Rules  and  Regulations  for  School  Buildings  of  the  state  of 
Minnesota. 

S.  C.-2 


30         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

In  each  school  or  classroom,  the  minimum  floor  space,  exclusive  of 
cloakrooms,  is — for  primary  grades,  12  square  feet  per  person;  for  grammar 
grades,  14  square  feet  per  person;  all  others,  16  square  feet  per  person. 
A  more  liberal  allowance  of  floor  space  (16  to  20  square  feet  per  person) 
is  recommended.  The  room  should  be  at  least  12  feet  high,  and  there 
should  be  at  least  200  cubic  feet  of  air  space  per  pupil.  Adequate  cloak- 
rooms, library  room,  and  toilets  should  be  provided.  Buildings  of  more 
than  one  story  should  either  be  fireproof  (built  of  incombustible  or  water- 
proof material)  except  that  finished  floors,  frames,  and  the  usual  trim  of 
rooms  are  of  ordinary  wood  construction,  with  a  dead  air  space  behind 
wood, — or  should  have  ample  fire  protection  and  an  adequate  number  of 
stairways.  Specifications  for  adequate  fire  protection  are: 

a.  Separate  fuel  rooms  in  the  basement 

b.  No  rubbish  or  inflammable  material  under  stairways 

c.  Outside  fire  escapes  for  buildings  two  or  more  stories  high 

d.  Frequent  fire  drills* 

[Most  fires  resulting  in  deaths  start  in  the  basement.! 

B.  Comparison.  Report  on  the  local  school  building  according  to 
these  standards.  How  high  is  the  first  floor  above  ground  level?  Has 
the  school  building  a  basement,  and,  if  so,  what  is  its  condition?  Where 
is  the  fuel  kept?  Is  there  any  inflammable  material  near  furnace,  which 
might  cause  school  fire?  How  are  the  stairways  arranged?  How  large 
are  the  classrooms?  (Measure  length  and  breadth  and  multiply  to  find 
number  of  square  feet).  How  many  square  feet  of  space  per  pupil?  How 
high  are  the  rooms?  Calculate  the  number  of  cubic  feet  of  air  in  the 
schoolroom,  divide  by  number  of  pupils,  plus  teacher,  and  compare  the 
resulting  amount  of  cubic  feet  of  space  per  pupil  writh  the  standard.  Do 
all  the  doors  open  outward?  How  are  the  stairways  arranged?  Are 
there  outside  fire  escapes?  If  so,  how  many,  and  with  possible  exit  in 
what  condition?  Find  out  from  the  teacher  how  often  fire  drills  are  held, 
how  long  it  takes  the  pupils  to  get  out  of  the  building,  how  good  the  order 
of  exit  is,  and  whether  any  sort  of  general  instruction  in  fire  prevention 
and  lines  of  action  in  case  of  fire  are  given  in  the  school?  (Write  Fire 
Marshal,  Madison,  Wisconsin.) 

If  the  condition  of  the  building  is  bad,  there  are  a  number  of  ways  in 
which  a  club  may  improve  conditions.  Perhaps  the  janitor  has  not  suffi- 
cient equipment  to  make  good  work  possible  for  him.  Talk  to  him  in 
a  helpful  way,  to  find  out  whether  he  cannot  be  induced  to  keep  the 
building  in  a  better  condition.  In  the  case  of  needed  equipment,  the 
board  must  be  approached  if  the  club  does  not  wish  itself  to  purchase  this 
for  the  school.  An  extreme  measure  to  be  used  only  in  extreme  cases  is 
requested  condemnation  of  the  school  building.  Upon  application  of  a 
local  voter,  local  educational  officer,  or  the  county  superintendent, 
the  state  superintendent  is  instructed  by  law  to  appoint  an  inspector  who 
will  report  on  the  condition  of  the  school  building  and,  if  necessary,  order 
its  condemnation  and  the  erection  of  a  new  building,  when  conditions 
are  so  bad  as  to  make  school  attendance  dangerous  to  pupils'  health. 


*See  Building  Code. 


PHYSICAL  CONDITIONS  31 


3.     Heating  and  Ventilation 

A.  Standard.     For  a  common  school,  the  stove  should  be  inclosed 
within  a  shield  or  jacket  made  of  galvanized  iron,  or  other  suitable  mater- 
ial, and  of  such, height  and  so  placed  as  to  protect  all  pupils  from  direct 
rays  of  heat  while  seated  at  their  desks.     If  possible,  furnace  or  some 
other  system  of  basement  heating  should  be  installed.     A  jacketed  stove 
should  have  a  direct  fresh  air  inlet  about  12  inches  square,  opening  through 
the  wall  of  the  schoolhouse  into  the  jacket  against  the  middle  or  hottest 
part  of  the  stove.     (Why?)     Each  schoolroom  should  be  provided  with 
foul  air  flues  at  least  16  inches  square,  with  exit  on  the  wall  (at  the  floor 
level)  on  the  same  side  of  the  room  as  the  stove.     The  temperature  of 
the  schoolroom  should  be  from  66  to  70  degrees,  usually  68  degrees. 
School  should  be  dismissed  when  temperature  falls  below  60  degrees, 
without  immediate  prospect  of  the  correct  temperature  being  attained. 

In  mild  weather  all  windows  should  be  kept  wide  open.  In  severe 
weather  window-board  ventilators  should  make  it  possible  to  keep  the 
windows  open  at  least  6  to  10  inches.  Such  ventilators  consist  of  a  plain 
strip  of  board  about  a  foot  wide,  nailed  to  the  bottom  of  the  window 
frame.  This  board  directs  the  air  coming  in  at  the  window  upward,  and 
is  such  an  effective  arrangement  that  one  women's  club  made  window- 
boards  its  chief  donation  to  the  school.  Ventilators  are  also  made  out  of 
very  coarse  and  open  burlap  or  sacking  stretched  upon  a  frame,  through 
which  some  fresh  air  may  pass. 

The  humidity  of  a  room  means  the  amount  of  moisture  which  is  held 
in  solution  by  the  air.  When  air  is  exceptionally  dry,  as  often  happens 
in  steam-heated  houses  in  the  winter  months,  it  causes  the  lips  to  crack 
and  the  skin  to  feel  thin  and  dry.  The  humidity  in  a  schoolroom  should 
be  at  least  40  per  cent.  It  may  be  kept  high  by  the  introduction  of  fresh 
air  and  by  the  use  of  large  evaporating  pans. 

B.  Comparison.     Compare  the  schoolrooms  in  the  local  building  with 
this  standard.     Inspect  the  heating  arrangements.     If  complicated,  get 
the  janitor  to  explain  them  fully.     Draw  diagrams  if  necessary.     Get 
the  opinion  of  the  teacher  on  the  efficiency  of  the  heating  system.     If 
there  is  inadequacy,  discuss  what  can  be  done. 

Locate  fresh  air  inlet  pipe  and  foul  air  outlet  pipe,  if  they  exist.  If 
there  are  none,  what  will  you  expect  the  air  in  the  schoolroom  to  be? 

Ask  the  teacher  to  have  the  children  make  a  temperature  chart  for  a 
week  during  the  winter  months.*  On  visits  during  the  class  hours  note 
whether  the  ventilation  pipes  are  open,  note  the  condition  of  the  windows, 
whether  affording  any  help  in  ventilating*orjiot,  and  note  also  the  tem- 
oerature  of  the  schoolroom.  On  a  visit jDr'two  during  recess,  the  noon 
hour,  or  when  school  is  not  being  held,  note*\vhat  is  being  done  to  change 
air  and  inject  fresh  air  into  the  room.  Notejtemperature  of  school 
building  on  several  different  occasions  and  report. 

Has  the  school  been  dismissed  any  time  during  the  past  year  on  account 
of  the  temperature  falling  too  low,  and,  if  so,  how  many  times,  and  could 

*In  view  of  the  frequent  untrustworthiness  of  thermometers,  it  will  be  well 
to  have  the  teacher  regulate  the  school  thermometer  from  a  thermometer  known  to 
be  correct — perhaps  from  a  thermometer  owned  by  the  local  doctor. 


32         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

the  condition  have  been  remedied?  What  is  the  percentage  of  loss  from 
dismissing  school  on  account  of  bad  physical  conditions?  Visit  a  gymnastic 
exercise  and  note  ventilation  provided. 

Does  the  temperature  record  on  several  separated  days  show  that  the 
heating  should  be  regulated  by  adjustment  of  windows,  heating  apparatus, 
or  ventilators  pftener  than  it  is  now  done? 

Each  school  should  own  a  hygrometer,  or  instrument  for  the  measure- 
ment of  humidity,  which  may  be  purchased  for  from  $2  to  $5.  (Be  sure  a 
hygrometer  which  does  not  require  reference  to  tables  is  furnished). 
With  the  hygrometer  measure  the  humidity  of  the  room  on  several  occa- 
sions and  see  where  the  conditions  need  changing. 

Wrong  conditions  may  be  remedied  by  friendly  suggestions,  by  purchase, 
by  suggestions  to  the  board,  and  by  newspaper  publicity. 

4.    Sanitation,  Seating,  Etc. 

A.  Standard.  Water.  All  schoolhouses  must  be  supplied  with  pure 
drinking  water.  If  the  drinking  water  is  obtained  from  wells,  satisfactory 
troughs  and  drains  must  be  provided,  so  as  to  carry  away  the  waste  water. 
When  the  water  is  not  supplied  from  pumps,  from  water  faucets,  or  from 
sanitary  flowing  drinking  fountains,  covered  tanks  or  covered  coolers 
with  free  flowing  faucets  must  be  supplied.  A  common  drinking  cup  is 
always  dangerous  and  should  never  be  tolerated.  Individual  cups,  as 
practical  experience  has  proved,  when  used  more  than  once  are  unsatis- 
factory and  unhygienic.  Sufficient  pressure  for  running  water  for  drinking 
fountain  or  other  uses  in  the  school  may  always  be  provided  from  any 
source  without  excessive  expense  by  a  storage  tank  or  by  a  pressure  tank 
with  force  pump. 

Toilets  and  water-closets  should  be  kept  clean  and  sanitary  at  all  times. 
Floors  should  be  kept  dry.  There  should  be  frequent  disinfection  to  pre- 
vent odors  and  unhealthful  conditions,  and  it  should  be  ascertained  that 
the  method  of  disposing  of  refuse  is  efficient  and  in  conformity  with  the 
state  laws  of  health. 

Seating.  Each  child  should  have  a  seat  which  should  be  as  far  from  the 
floor  as  the  distance  from  the  sole  of  the  foot  to  the  joint  of  the  knee.  The 
depth  of  the  seat  should  be  such  that  the  child  can  sit  against  the  back  of 
the  seat  in  comfort.  The  desk  for  writing  should  be  nearer  the  pupil  than 
for  reading  (from  6  to  10  inches  from  pupil  when  sitting  against  back  of 
seat).  Aisles  should  be  not  less  than  18  to  20  inches  wide. 

Every  schoolhouse  should  have  single  adjustable  seats  and  desks,  and 
these  should  be  adjusted  at  the  beginning  of  each  school  year,  and  during 
the  year  if  the  growth  of  the  children  makes  it  necessary.  The  rows  of 
seats  should  be  graduated  in  size  by  rows  lengthwise  and  not  crosswise  of 
the  room — that  is,  there  should  be  a  row  of  small  seats  on  the  right  hand 
side  of  the  room  and  rows  of  larger  seats  up  to  the  row  of  largest  seats  to 
the  left  of  the  schoolroom,  rather  than  having  the  front  seats  small  and 
the  back  seats  the  largest. 

Lighting.  Light  should  be  admitted  from  the  left  or  from  the  left  and 
rear  of  the  classrooms,  and  the  south  light  is  considered  poorest.  The  glass 
area  of  windows  should  equal  at  least  one-fifth  of  the  floor  area  of  the 


PHYSICAL  CONDITIONS  33 

schoolroom,  and  no  pupil  should  be  farther  removed  from  the  principal 
source  of  light  than  22  feet.     (See  Plates  VII,  VIII,  X,  and  XI). 

Every  window  should  be  provided  with  shades.  If  possible,  shades 
should  roll  from  either  the  top  or  bottom  of  the  window,  so  that  light  may 
be  admitted  from  the  top,  making  the  best  lighting  condition.  In  a  room 
with  southern  exposure  shades  should  be  of  some  dark  material,  preferably 
green.  For  rooms  using  a  northern  light  shades  should  be  light  tan.  If 
possible,  it  is  well  to  have  shades  of  both  colors  to  allow  for  various  con- 
ditions of  light.  Shades  should  ordinarily  be  adjusted  so  that  the 
top  half  of  the  window  is  unshaded.  Windows  should  be  cut  as  nearly 
as  possible  to  the  top  of  the  schoolroom. 

B.  Comparison.  Water.  Report  on  the  drinking  conditions  of  the  school- 
house.  Has  any  typhoid  fever  been  reported  among  the  school  children 
in  your  district  during  the  last  five  years?  (Consult  local  physician).  Also 
have  local  health  officer  write  the  State  Laboratory  of  Hygiene,  Madison, 
Wisconsin,  and  secure  an  analysis  of  the  water.  How  is  water  supplied  for 
drinking  to  the  children  in  the  schoolroom?  Have  they  individual  cups? 
If  so,  how  often  are  such  cups  cleansed  and  is  boiling  water  used  for  this 
purpose?  Would  the  school  profit  by  an  inexpensive  source  of  running 
water  for  drinking,  bubblers,  etc? 

The  Anti-Tuberculosis  Society  of  Milwaukee  is  glad  to  send  a  sample 
card  showing  how  to  fold  individual  drinking  cups  and  these  are  worth 
considering  for  the  use  of  the  school. 

Toilets.  With  the  teacher  inspect  both  boys'  and  girls'  toilets  on  several 
occasions.  Is  there  an  odor?  Are  the  floors  clean?  Are  there  any  obscene 
markings?  What  is  the  method  of  disposal  of  refuse? 

Seating.  Observe  the  schoolroom  during  general  exercise.  How  many  of 
the  children  seem:  1.  Comfortable  as  to  seating  and  desk  arrangements? 
2.  Slightly  uncomfortable?  3.  In  very  bad  position?  Observe  also  during 
a  writing  lesson  and  during  a  reading  lesson.  Are  the  desks  used  adjustable? 
Has  the  teacher  adjusted  them?  If  not,  make  the  proper  suggestions  to 
teacher  or  janitor. 

Lighting.  How  many  windows  are  there  in  the  schoolroom?  How  near 
the  top  of  the  room  do  the  windows  come?  Calculate  the  light  area  in 
each  room.  Divide  this  into  the  area  of  the  floor  and  see  whether  the 
quotient  is  more  than  five.  Does  the  light  come  from  the  left  of  the  pupils? 
What  are  the  conditions  in  regard  to  shades,  and,  if  they  are  bad,  could 
the  domestic  science  classes  help  remedy,  or  should  new  shades  be  pro- 
vided? 

Bear  in  mind  that  the  best  shades  in  the  world  will  do  a  schoolroom  no 
good  unless  the  teacher  sees  to  keeping  them  always  adjusted.  This 
responsibility  may  be  delegated  to  one  of  the  more  mature  pupils,  if  it  is 
impossible  for  the  teacher  to  remember  always.  The  teacher  also  is  the 
only  person  who  can  make  good  conditions  as  to  seats  really  possible. 

5.      Cleanliness 

A.  Standard.  "All  floors  must  be  thoroughly  swept,  or  cleaned,  each 
day,  either  after  the  close  of  school  in  the  afternoon,  or  one  hour  before 
the  opening  of  school  in  the  morning.  Before  sweeping  is  started  the 


34        SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


PHYSICAL  CONDITIONS 


35 


LET  THERE  BE  LIGHT! 


Standard 


window  space 


floor  space 


Children  need  1/5 
as  much  window  as 
floor  space 


Our  school   has 


window 
space 


floor 
space 


1/9  as  much 
window    as    floor    space 


PLATE  VIII 


36         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

floors  must  be  sprinkled  with  moist  sawdust,  or  other  substance  so  as  to 
prevent  the  raising  of  dust.  (The  floors  in  all  schoolrooms  and  halls  should 
be  thoroughly  scrubbed  with  soap  and  water  at  least  once  each  month)." 

Windows  should  be  cleaned  as  often  as  may  be  necessary  to  keep  them 
bright  and  shining. 

B.  Comparison.  In  spite  of  the  above  quoted  ruling  of  the  Wisconsin 
board  of  health,  many  schools  do  not  scrub  the  floors  as  often  as  the  laws 
of  health  require.  How  often  are  floors  in  the  local  schools  scrubbed? 

Find  out  how  often  the  school  halls  and  classrooms  are  scrubbed  and 
when  the  windows  were  last  cleaned.  Are  the  children  trained  to  keep  little 
bits  of  paper  and  other  waste  material  off  the  floors?  Do  the  floors  look 
such  as  you  would  want  to  see  in  your  home  kitchen?  Perhaps  they  cannot 
be  brought  up  to  this  standard,  but  probably  something  can  be  done  to 
improve  conditions  if  these  are  poor.  (See  plate  IX.) 

6.     Conclusions 

It  is  not  likely  that  any  school'will  be  found  where  conditions  reach  the 
standard  in  all  the  foregoing  respects.  The  club  will  undoubtedly  wish 
to  make  a  number  of  changes.  Several  methods  are  listed  below. 

a.  Put  all  interesting  stories  in  chart  form  for  use  in  the  school  exhibit. 
Keep  all  data  on  physical  conditions  at  the  school. 

b.  The  local  newspaper  may  be  informed  of  bad  conditions  and  some- 
thing will  be  published  about  them.    This  method  is  probably  not  to  be 
recommended  until  other  methods  have  failed.    Destructive  criticism  in 
print  is  more  likely  to  arouse  wrath  than  effect  reform. 

c.  Talk  over  conditions  with  members  of  the  school  board.     They 
probably  know  the  bad  conditions  already  but,  if  not,  take  them  to  the 
school  building  to  see  the  facts.   Ask  individual  members  to  report  condi- 
tions to  the  board  at  its  meeting,  or  to  the  voters  if  more  taxes  are  neces- 
sary, and  enlist  their  cooperation  in  improving  conditions. 

d.  Sometimes  a  parent-teacher  association  will  wish  itself  to   raise 
money  for  buying  apparatus  to  improve  conditions,  and  this  may  be  done 
in  any  of  the  time-honored  ways  which  clubs  have  found  practicable — 
socials,  school  fairs,  bazaars,  solicitation  of  donations,  and  other  means. 

e.  Often  the  condition  to  be  remedied  will  be  found  to  be  one  for  which 
money  is  not  essential.    Possibly  the  janitor  is  the  one  who  can  improve 
conditions.    If  so,  he  should  be  interviewed,  with  a  view  to  finding  out 
what  are  his  reasons  for  not  living  up  to  the  best  that  a  school  janitor  can 
do. 

f.  The  teacher  can  do  almost  anything  in  improving  the  physical  con- 
ditions of  the  school  where  these  do  not  require  or  need  a  cash  outlay. 
The  parents'  association  should  stand  back  of  the  teachers,  encouraging 
them  in  every  way  possible  to  work  out  the  best  of  their  ideas  on  hygiene. 

g.  The  pupils  may  be  enlisted  as  hygienic  assistants.    Groups  of  pupils 
appointed  as  "health  officers"  for  a  fortnight  or  a  month  each,  so  that  each 
pupil  will  have  a  term  of  service  during  the  year,  can  be  credited  with  their 
work  as  part  of  "physiology  and  hygiene,"  "nature  study,"  "domestic 
science"   "biology,"   "physics  or  chemistry."       Such  work  is  "applied 
science." 


PHYSICAL   CONDITIONS 


37 


CLEAN  FLOORS  FOR  SCHOOLHOUSES! 


When  your  child  comes  home  he  finds  a  floor  cleaned 
once  a  week 


When  he  goes  to  school  he  finds  a  floor  scrubbed  once 
a  term 


FROM    THE    NUMBER    OF    USERS    WHICH     FLOOR 
NEEDS  SCRUBBING  OFTENER? 


PLATE   IX 


38 


SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES^OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


x  § 

e. 


PHYSICAL  CONDITIONS 


39 


w  g 

H 


40        SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

Health  officers  should  read  thermometers  hourly,  and  chart  the  tem- 
peratures on  a  blackboard  reserved  for  it,  so  that  pupils,  principal,  janitor, 
and  visitors  can  see  the  record  at  a  glance.  When  conditions  permit,  they 
should  adjust  windows,  heating  apparatus,  or  ventilators,  for  the  proper 
temperature,  which  should  not  exceed  68°  Fahrenheit  in  the  months  when 
artificial  heat  is  required. 

Health  officers  of  twelve  and  over  in  addition  should  measure  relative 
humidity,  estimate  or  measure  dust,  air  currents  and  freshness,  cleanliness 
of  washbowls,  water-closets,  and  other  parts  of  the  premises.  Permanent 
records  in  a  substantial  book  are  also  to  be  kept,  to  take  the  place  of 
opinions  and  guesses  in  administration  of  sanitary  affairs. 

Health  officers  from  upper  grades  can  be  appointed  for  rooms  of  children 
too  young  to  do  the  work. 


SECTION  V.      SCHOOL  BEAUTIFICATION 

Your  child  must  have  healthful  conditions  in  the  schoolhouse  and  school- 
room. The  requirement  of  health,  however  fundamental,  is  not  the  only 
one  which  must  be  met.  Every  child  needs,  and  has  a  right  to  have, 
beautiful  and  inspiring  surroundings  in  which  to  work  and  play.  No 
matter  how  sanitary  the  schoolhouse  may  be,  if  it  does  not  give  the  child 
some  beautiful  things  to  observe,  beautiful  grounds  to  play  in,  or  beautiful 
materials  to  work  with,  it  is  not  fulfilling  its  whole  duty  to  the  child. 

1.  Cleanliness  of  Grounds 

The  welfare  of  children  makes  it  right  to  demand  that  the  school  yard 
and  grounds  should  be  neat  and  clean.  Paper  should  not  be  strewn  around, 
and  while  spaces  without  grass  are  unavoidable  where  children  play, 
still  play  spaces  should  never  remain  in  a  littered  condition. 

Visit  the  school  on  several  occasions  and  notice  the  condition  of  the 
yard.  Do  you  find  waste  paper  on  the  ground?  How  much  chalk  writing 
on  the  outer  walls  of  the  schoolhouse,  or  what  other  disfigurements?  Do 
the  children  seem  to  take  pride  in  making  their  surroundings  neat  and 
clean?  Does  the  schoolhouse  need  paint? 

Often  the  problem  of  keeping  the  school  yard  clean  seems  almost  im- 
possible of  solution  on  account  of  the  pupils  themselves.  They  often  seem 
unwilling  to  make  an  effort  to  keep  the  grounds  neat  and  are  able  to  litter 
them  faster  than  they  can  be  cleaned  by  the  teacher  or  janitor.  Pupils 
must  be  led  to  take  pride  in  keeping  the  school  yard  clean.  Oftentimes 
they  would  do  this  if  properly  stimulated. 

In  case  there  is  necessity  for  improvement  in  this  direction,  organize 
with  the  teacher  and  principal  a  "Clean-Up  Day"  for  the  school.  Have 
captains  appointed  to  direct  the  work  of  cleaning,  possibly  dividing  the 
school  yard  into  two  parts  and  instituting  a  clean-up  race.  Then  have 
each  section  responsible  for  the  cleanliness  of  its  territory,  and  see  if  the 
pupils  themselves  cannot  be  gotten  to  take  a  personal  interest  in  keeping 
the  yards  as  clean  as  possible.  This  plan  might  be  extended  to  the  roads, 
leading  away  from  the  schoolhouse.  The  pupils  in  each  direction  would 
have  particular  charge  of  the  condition  of  "their  roads,"  and  prizes  might 
be  given  for  the  best  work. 

In  many  localities  there  will  be  found  a  need  for  a  "Clean-Up  Day"  for 
the  whole  village  or  section.  In  many  cities  "Clean-Up  Day"  is  held  once 
a  year,  and  all  citizens  cooperate  in  cleaning  up  their  yards  and  public 
places  as  well.  The  school  children  can  be  used  to  great  advantage  in  this 
sort  of  work. 

2.  Beauty  of  Grounds 

Trees  and  shrubs  and  flowers  may  be  induced  to  grow  in  any  part  of 
Wisconsin.  A  schoolhouse  should  have  trees  surrounding  it  (though  not 


42         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

so  near  as  to  interfere  with  the  light),  and  there  should  be  banks  of  shrubs 
and  beds  of  flowers  to  give  the  pupils  their  due, — beauty  of  surroundings. 
Lists  of  trees  which  can  be  planted,  lists  of  shrubs  which  are  suitable  for 
school  grounds,  and  directions  for  planting  shrubs,  trees  and  flowers  may 
be  secured  from  any  nursery  catalog,  from  the  Home  Gardening  Associa- 
tion, No.  612  St.  Glair  Avenue,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  or  from  bulletins  of  the 
state  department  of  public  instruction  at  Madison,  the  University  of 
Wisconsin,  or  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Make  a  diagram  of  the  school  grounds,  showing  the  school  building, 
any  trees,  location  and  kind  of  tree,  any  shrubbery,  location,  size  of  plot, 
and  variety  of  shrub,  and  the  flower  gardens  in  the  same  manner.  If  there 
are  none  or  too  few  of  these  things  make  another  diagram  of  the  school 
and  grounds,  including  possible  beautification.  Make  this  plan  as  definite 
as  possible,  giving  varieties  of  plants  desired,  and,  if  necessary,  securing 
the  cooperation  of  outside  authorities  for  the  plotting  of  the  grounds.  It 
is  very  important  that  a  complete  plan  should  be  worked  out  and  submit- 
ted to  school  board  or  county  superintendent  before  beginning  the  planting. 
A  little  of  the  plan  may  be  worked  out  each  year.  Shrubs  may  be  started 
by  seeds  or  cutting  from  homes  in  the  vicinity  of  the  school.  Here  are  a 
few  rules  to  follow  in  landscape  planting. 

1.  Plant  about  the  borders  of  the  lawn  space  leaving  spacious  grass 
plots  irside. 

2.  Avoid  planting  either  trees  or  shrubs  in  straight  lines,  but  plant 
rather  in  masses  or  bunches. 

3.  Leave  gaps  for  vistas  between  the  bunches  of  shrubbery  or  trees. 

4.  Mass  shrubery  in  the  angles  or  about  the  corners  of  the  building, 
but  do  not  completely  cover  the  view  of  the  building. 

5.  Cover  unsightly  places  by  vines  or  high  shrubbery. 

6.  Plant  flowers  along  the  front  border  of  shrubbery. 

7.  Make  use  of  native  shrubs  and  trees  as  far  as  possible  and  avoid 
plants  not  adapted  to  the  region. 

8.  Give  some  place  to  shrubs  and  trees  that  will  furnish  food  for  birds, 
e.  g.,  mulberry,  wild  cherry,  sumac,  elderberry,  June 'berry,  dogwood, 
viburnum,   (high  bush  cranberry  especially  good)  mountain  ash,   haw- 
thorne,  etc. 

9.  Be  sure  that  provision  is  made  for  the  care  of  shrubs  and  trees  during 
vacations.    Trees  and  shrubs  are  more  apt  to  die  the  second  year  after 
planting  than  the  first."* 

3.    School  Gardening. 

Where  it  is  possible,  pupils  in  a  school  ought  to  be  given  growing  plants 
to  supervise  and  care  for.  This  work  will  be  found  to  improve  greatly 
work  in  the  other  school  subjects.  Schools  in  Wisconsin  and  other  states 
have  experimented  in  gardens  for  the  children,  and  have  found  that  the 
work  makes  the  children  far  more  interested  in  school  and  so  improves  the 
regular  work  of  the  school.  If  the  school  is  near  or  in  a  large  town  or  city, 
the  school  gardens  may  be  made  into  a  commercial  enterprise  for  the  chil- 
dren, who  may  sell  the  produce  raised  and  gain  some  profit  therefrom. 

Does  your  school  have  garden  plots  for  the  children?  If  not,  does  the 
teacher  encourage  and  cooperate  in  gardening  work  for  the  children  at 

*From  "Lessons  in  Agriculture  for  Rural  Schools"  issued  by  Wisconsin  State 
Department  of  Public  Instruction. 


SCHOOL  BEAUTIFIGATION  43 

their  homes?  Talk  this  over  with  the  teacher  and  see  what  can  be  done. 
Suggest  to  some  farmer  or  merchant  that  a  small  prize  be  offered  for  the 
best  yield  of  corn  or  other  vegetable  on  a  small  plot  by  a  pupil  of  the  school. 
If  possible,  point  out  a  definite  section  of  the  school  grounds  which  might 
be  used  for  possible  gardening  work.  Ask  the  opinions  of  the  pupils  them- 
selves as  to  their  desire  to  do  gardening  work,  as,  if  they  desire  it,  they  will 
gain  a  great  deal  more  from  its  practice. 

Communicate  with  regard  to  school  agricultural  contests  with  the 
county  superintendent,  the  county  training  school,  or  the  director  of  the 
county  fair.  You  will  find  that  there  are  contests  and  prizes  offered  in 
practically  every  Wisconsin  county  which  will  stimulate  interest  in  this 
sort  of  gardening  work  on  the  part  of  school  children. 

Your  club  may  want  to  create  sentiment  or  financially  to  provide  for 
the  employment  of  a  home  gardening  instructor  (perhaps  the  high  school 
agricultural  instructor)  to  work  with  the  children  during  the  summer 
months.  This  may  not  be  necessary.  Some  member  of  the  club  may  be 
willing  to  give  time  and  instruction.  A  summer  committee  may  be  ap- 
pointed to  supervise  home  garden  work  as  well  as  school  gardens.  School 
gardens  very  often  are  allowed  to  remain  uncared  for  during  the  summer 
months.  No  matter  whether  school  gardens  are  developed,  or  merely  the 
hedges  and  shrubs  are  to  be  cared  for,  there  should  be  some  provision 
made  for  the  summer  care  of  the  school  grounds. 


4.    Indoor  Decoration 

A  bulletin  published  by  the  Wisconsin  state  department  of  public 
instruction  called  "The  School  Beautiful"  gives  many  suggestions  as  to 
the  indoor  decoration  of  the  school.  It  is  seldom  well  to  use  dark  colors 
in  a  schoolroom.  The  colors  used  should  be  light  tones,  usually  cream, 
tan,  or  iight  brown  for  the  walls,  and  light  gray  or  white  for  the  ceiling. 
The  woodwork  should  be  painted  or  revarnished  when  necessary,  and 
the  walls  should  be  kept  clean  and  clear  in  tone. 

One  picture  at  least,  and  never  too  many,  should  be  on  the  walls  of 
every  schoolroom.  Art  catalogs  will  give  a  superabundance  of  subjects 
from  which  to  select.  Casts  and  statuary  are  also  advisable.  The  school- 
house  should  be  equipped  with  a  few  beautiful  vases  for  flowers  when 
these  may  be  obtainable.  A  few  growing  plants  will  lend  cheerfulness  and 
attractiveness  to  a  schoolroom.  Winter  flowers  may  be  raised  very  cheaply 
from  bulbs.  Beside  these,  there  should  always  be  some  eye  to  changing 
the  surroundings  of  the  schoolroom  so  as  to  show  the  pupils  some  new 
thing,  however,  small,  which  will  quicken  and  stimulate  their  artistic 
nature. 

Survey  the  schoolroom  for  beauty  of  surroundings.  Compare  it  with 
the  most  beautiful  and  comfortable  places  you  know.  (A  meeting  of 
fathers  held  in  the  schoolhouse  at  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  brought  forth  first 
many  complaints,  and  then  constructive  work  for  the  improving  of  con- 
ditions). Have  your  meeting  in  the  schoolhouse  and  compare  the  building 
and  rooms  to  what  thev  might  be. 


44         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

Does  the  woodwork  need  doing  over?  Do  the  walls  need  repainting? 
Will  merchants  make  special  prices  to  the  school  for  the  benefit  of  the 
community  or  even  give  time  and  materials  for  its  benefit? 

Can  the  club  make  suggestions  on  inspiring  and  beautiful  pictures  for 
the  schoolroom?  Let  the  children  take  a  vote  on  small  reproductions 
before  purchase  is  made,  to  see  which  one  appeals  to  them  most.  In  this 
way  the  picture  will  be  more  the  school's  picture.  The  same  method  may 
be  used  in  regard  to  casts  and  statuary. 

Is  the  teacher  always  trying  to  have  the  schoolroom  contain  something 
of  especial  beauty?  Do  the  pupils  bring  flowers  for  the  school  desk?  Do 
parents  contribute  for  short  periods  of  time  beautiful,  curious,  or  other- 
wise interesting  articles  from  their  homes?  Some  schoolrooms  contain  a 
stand  or  small  table  covered  with  a  pleasing  tapestry  cloth  or  other  scarf, 
(changed  frequently)  on  which  are  placed  objects  which  the  children  may 
see  and  appreciate.  These  objects  may  be  historical  works  for  the  interest 
of  the  history  class,  quaint  stones  or  shells  about  which  a  story  may  be 
told,  old  pictures  or  daguerotypes  which  have  an  interest  as  school 
material,  a  flower  or  autumn  leaf  where  the  coloring  is  excellent,  or  other 
articles.  Articles  should  not  be  left  on  such  a  table  or  stand  more  than 
a  few  days,  and  the  children  should  be  in  every  way  encouraged  to  take 
part  themselves  in  their  selection  and  placing.  Groups  of  children  by  twos 
and  threes  might  attend  to  this  in  rotation. 

In  many  cases  it  will  be  found  that  the  school  is  in  need  of  some  concrete 
article  such  as  a  victrola,  piano,  picture  or  some  other  thing.  Many  parent- 
teacher  associations  and  clubs  find  it  possible  to  raise  money  for  the  pur- 
chase of  such  articles. 

The  beautification  of  the  interior  of  the  schoolroom  is  one  of  the  easiest 
and  most  pleasant  of  the  possible  opportunities  for  service  of  the  parent's 
association.  In  every  community  is  to  be  found  abundant  material. 


SECTION  VI.     THE  SCHOOL  LIBRARY 


Note:  It  is  now  legally  required  that  each  school  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin  pro- 
vide some  sort  of  a  school  library  for  its  pupils.  You  often  find  that  your  child  is 
more  interested  in  books  which  he  reads  outside  of  school  hours  than  in  the  text- 
books in  school  subjects.  The  proper  selection,  care,  maintenance,  and  complete, 
use  of  a  school  library  are  of  the  greatest  importance  in  determining  the  nature, 
character,  and  amount,  of  a  child's  reading. 

1.    Library  Housekeeping 

Books  must  be  well  arranged  and  easily  available  to  children  before  the 
library  can  reach  its  maximum  efficiency.  With  the  teacher's  permission, 
make  a  study  of  the  school  library.  Get  the  total  shelf  space  which  is 
available.  Are  the  shelves  arranged  so  they  can  easily  be  reached  by  all 
pupils,  and  are  the  books  for  primary  children  on  the  lower  shelves?  Do 
the  books  present  a  good  appearance  on  the  shelves?  Is  there  sufficient 
shelf  space  to  accommodate  all  the  library  books  owned  by  the  school? 

If  library  conditions  show  the  need  of  a  library  house  cleaning,  get 
the  teacher  to  set  aside  the  last  half  of  one  or  a  series  of  Friday  afternoons 
for  this  purpose.  If  manual  training  work  is  offered,  let  the  manual 
training  boys  fix  shelves,  and  let  the  domestic  science  girls  clean  the  shelves 
while  the  boys  do  the  heavier  work  of  handling  the  books. 

2.    Number  and  Sort  of  Books 

If  the  library  needs  a  house  cleaning,  it  will  form  a  good  opportunity  to 
find  out  how  many  books  the  school  owns,  in  what  condition  they  are,  and 
on  what  subjects.  First  of  all,  how  many  excessively  dilapidated  or 
antique  books  are  there — volumes  such  as  no  pupil  would  be  apt  to  be 
interested  in  nowadays?  These  volumes  can  very  well  be  relegated  to 
some  storeroom.  Legal  library  requirements  (See  Library  Rebinding 
pamphlet,  issued  by  Department  of  Public  Instruction)  now  demand 
that  books  be  set  aside  for  rebinding  when  this  may  be  necessary,  and  it 
will  be  well  to  consult  with  the  teacher  as  to  how  many  books  need  re- 
pairing and  rebinding.  Much  of  the  repairing  work  can  well  be  done  by 
the  pupils. 

Every  schoolhouse  is  required  by  law  to  have  certain  books  and  to 
purchase  books  for  its  library  up  to  a  certain  sum  per  capita  of  enrollment. 
Every  school  should  have  the  township  library  list,  issued  by  the  State  De- 
partment of  Public  Instruction,  from  which  to  select  books,  and  also 
"Lessons  on  the  Use  of  the  School  I.  Jbrary."  The  school  library  should 
contain  an  unabridged  dictionary,  several  good  up-to-date  maps,  an  atlas, 
a  newspaper  or  two,  and  one  or  more  current  periodicals  of  general  interest. 
It  should  also  contain  reference  books' and  bulletin  material  for  each  sub- 
ject taught  in  the'school,  and,  besidesjthese,  a  number  of  books  of  general 


46         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

interest  to  the  children — stories,  travel,  adventure,  etc.  A  special  effort 
should  be  made  to  have  a  good  supply  of  story  books  suitable  for  children 
in  the  primary  grades,  as  most  libraries  are  deficient  in  this  respect.  * 

Find  out  the  total  number  of  books  in  the  school  library,  eliminating 
very  eld  or  unusable  books.  Classify  material  as  books,  maga?ines,  bul- 
letins, etc.  Consult  with  the  teacher  as  to  deficiencies — in  what  subjects 
reference  material  is  most  necessary  or  would  be  most  appreciated.  Discuss 
with  the  club,  ways  and  means  for  acquiring  books.  Often  donations  of 
books  are  made,  but  it  is  necessary  to  be  sure  that  such  donations  do  not 
include  unusable  books.  It  is  generally  better  to  buy  books  new  from  the 
Township  Library  List.  Many  schools  of  Wisconsin  have  excellent  li- 
braries. There  are  few  school  libraries  which  could  not  profit  by  increasing 
their  amount  of  material.  Books  are  perhaps  more  seldom  donated  to  the 
school  than  pictures;  but,  if  clubs  realized  the  value  of  this  form  of  giving, 
money  would  undoubtedly  be  used  in  this  way.  It  will  be  found  that  a 
school  library  may  be  very  largely  augmented  by  free  bulletin  and  pam- 
phlet material.  Have  the  pupils  write  to  the  state  department  of  public 
instruction  for  names  of  bulletins  on  school  subjects,  which  the  teacher 
may  obtain  free  of  charge,  and  then  have  pupils  write  letters  requesting 
such  bulletins  from  publishing  organizations.  The  list  given  in  the  intro- 
duction to  this  course  of  study  will  give  an  idea  of  the  wealth  of  material 
on  all  phases  of  education  which  may  be  obtained  free  of  charge. 

3.    The  Use  of  Books 

The  value  of  books  is  completely  lost  if  they  are  left  unused  or  used 
merely  to  weight  papers  or  to  press  flowers  in.  The  dub  should  encourage 
the  use  of  the  school  libranj.  A  very  inadequate  equipment  may  be  made  the 
basis  of  large  profit  if  it  is  completely  used. 

Before  any  library  agitation  has  been  made,  keep  a  record  for  a  single 
week  or  month  of  the  number  of  books  drawn  from  the  library  by  school 
children,  or  used  during  school  hours.  Find  out  what  percentage  of  the 
total  number  of  books  are  read  weekly.  Show  results  graphically  as  in 
plate  XII. 

Now  begin  agitation  to  get  children  to  read  more  books..  Have  the 
teacher  or  some  member  of  the  club  tell  stories  from  books  in  class,  giving 
a  summary  of  the  beginning  of  three  or  four  interesting  story  books  and 
suggesting  to  the  children  that  these  are  available  in  the  library  for  their 
use.  After  a  period  of  such  endeavor,  make  another  book  shelf,  showing 
the  percentage  of  books  used,  and  use  this  as  contrasting  data  in  place  of 
comparing  poor  conditions  with  the  best  possible  ones  as  shown  in  plate 
XII.  Check  the  teachers'  use  of  "Lessons  on  the  Use  of  the  School  Li- 
brary" in  the  various  grades.  Are  teachers  using  this  bulletin  (published 
by  the  state  department  of  public  instruction)?  Can  they  be  induced  to  do 
so?  Be  sure  that  they  use  in  each  grade  the  work  which  is  outlined  as 
proper  for  that  grade. 

In  looking  over  the  books  find  the  ones  which  show  most  signs  of  wear. 
Ask  the  children  in  the  various  grades  which  books  they  have  read  in 

*See  bulletin  "Suggestions  on  Reading  in  the  Grades"  by  Miss  Annie  Reynolds, 
issued  by  the  Wisconsin  State  Department  of  Public  Instruction. 


THE  SCHOOL  LIBRARY 


47 


THE   SCHOOL  LIBRARY 


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Why   not   have  them   all   read? 


Encourage  your  children  to  read 
Give  them  school  credit  for  reading 
Provide  interesting  books  to  read 
Read  yourself 


READING  MAKETH  A  FULL  MAN" 


PLATE  XII 


48         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

the  school  library  during  the  past  month  or  year,  and  find  out  from  these 
lists  which  are  the  most  popular.  It  is  sometimes  well  to  institute  a  reading 
contest  between  classrooms  to  see  which  can  report  on  the  greatest  number 
of  books  within  a  year. 

Pupils  may  be  encouraged  to  read  by  individual  reports  on  books  read, 
by  a  "library  hour"  (the  hour  at  the  close  of  the  Friday  afternoon  session 
to  be  given  over  to  reading  and  telling  stories),  by  the  formation  of  a  read- 
ing circle  (write  the  Wisconsin  Teachers'  &  Young  People's  Reading  Circle 
Board  at  Madison,  Wisconsin,)  by  debates  on  topics  of  current  interest, 
reports  on  current  events,  use  of  general  material  in  reading  lessons  peri- 
odically (abandoning  reading  textbooks  and  having  one  pupil  read  to  the 
remainder  of  the  class  from  a  selected  library  book),  and  in  many  other 
ways. 

If  possible,  let  the  children  organize  into  a  club  to  use  and  discuss  what 
they  have  been  reading.  If  there  is  a  member  of  the  club  who  enjoys  such 
work,  let  her  organize  a  "story  hour"  for  outside  of  school  hours  for  the 
younger  children.  This  work  may  also  be  done  in  connection  with  the 
village  or  city  library.  If  possible,  get  pupils  in  upper  grades  to  start 
individual  libraries  of  their  own. 

4.    Cooperation  with  Public  Library 

The  city  or  town  that  finds  and  applies  the  best  modern  ideas  is  the  best 
city  to  live  in.  In  books,  journals  and  reports  are  to  be  found  all  of  these 
best  ideas.  The  library  is  the  source  of  such  constructive  material.  In 
any  library  may  be  found  through  half  an  hour's  reading,  desultory  or 
directed,  material  which  will  yield  suggestions  for  the  betterment  of 
conditions. 

The  library  school  or  public,  should  put  interesting  information  in 
usable  form  and  should  circulate  it.  The  people  of  the  community  should 
be  encouraged  by  special  invitation,  repeated  frequently,  to  make  use 
of  library  facilities  in  the  answering  of  questions  on  whatever  subjects. 
In  one  Wisconsin  city  about  fifty  different  magazines  are  circulated 
through  school  children  to  parents  in  the  various  homes.  These  magazines 
have  been  secured  without  charge  from  the  subscribers  after  they  have 
finished  reading  them  and  information  as  to  the  possibility  of  obtaining 
them  is  disseminated  through  the  school  children. 

Among  the  agencies  through  which  free  books,  bulletin  material,  and 
other  information  may  be  received  by  Wisconsin  club  women  are: 

Package  Library,  Extension  Division,  Madison,  Wisconsin 

Free  Traveling  Library,  State  Capitol,  Madison,  Wisconsin 

School  Service,  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Madison,  Wisconsin. 


SECTION  VII.  THE  SCHOOL  TEACHER 


1.  Length  of  Service 

A  good  teacher  is  unquestionably  the  most  important  single  element 
in  a  good  school.  It  is  a  matter  of  direct  concern  to  the  parents  of  each 
pupil  that  the  teacher  should  be  a  person  of  ability,  living  in  agreeable 
and  inspiring  surroundings.  The  teacher  should  be  a  respected  and  prom- 
inent member  of  the  community.  There  are  probably  few  cities  in  the 
United  States  in  which  teachers  are  given  working  conditions  even  approx- 
imating to  the  ideal.  What  are  the  facts  about  your  village  or  city? 

Get  the  total  of  different  teachers  who  have  worked  in  the  local  schools 
at  any  time  during  the  past  ten  years,  including  those  now  teaching. 
Give  under  the  name  of  each  one  the  number  of  years  he  or  she  worked. 
Make  a  table  giving  the  number  working  one  year  or  less,  two  years,  three 
years,  up 'to  those  having  remained  in  the  school  for  ten  years  or  over. 

Fin.1  out  the  total  number  of  teaching  years  in  the  local  schools  for  the 
past  ten  years.  Thus,  if  ten  years  ago  the  school  employed  five  teachers, 
and  for  the  past  three  years  it  employed  six,  the  total  number  of  teaching 
years  would  be  10  x  5  or  50,  plus  three  years  of  the  sixth  teachers'  time, 
making  a  total  of  53  Leaching  years.  Divide  this  total  teaching  years  by 
the  total  number  of  teachers  who  have  worked  in  the  local  schools,  thus 
obtaining  the  average  teaching  life  of  teachers  in  your  community.  On 
the  average,  how  many  new  teachers  are  employed  each  year? 

A  good  teacher  always  does  better  service  in  a  school  the  second  year 
of  teaching  there  than  the  first  year,  and  the  third  and  fourth  years  than 
the  second.  What  does  this  record  of  teaching  show  as  to  the  local 
schools?  Does  it  show  a  body  of  workers  who  stay  in  the  school  and 
increase  their  effectiveness  from  year  to  year,  or  does  it  show  that  as  a 
rule  teachers  serve  for  a  short  time  and  then  leave  for  other  fields? 

There  will  found  hardly  a  school  in  which  the  average  length  of  service 
is  not  too  low — three  to  four  years  or  less.  If  one  or  two  teachers  have 
had  an  unusually  long  term  of  service,  they  should  be  omitted  in  calcu- 
lating the  average  service.  Teachers  should  be  induced  to  stay,  and  if 
this  organization  can  be  the  means  of  a  long  term  of  service  for  teachers, 
it  will  have  been  of  great  help  to  education  in  the  community. 

2.  Reasons  for  Leaving 

Using  the  list  of  teachers  in  topic  1,  find  out  in  each  case  where  a  teacher 
has  left  for  what  reason  this  was  done.  Group  the  reasons  under  two 
heads: 

a.  Unpreventable  reasons  (sickness,  death,  marriage,  etc.) 

b.  Preventable  reasons  (higher  salary,  larger  town,  social  life,  stimulus 
of  new  surroundings,  incompetence  in  present  position,,  petty  quarrels 
in  district,  etc.) 


50        SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


3.      Relation  of  Teacher  to  the  Community 

Take  up  separately  the  reasons  for  leaving  listed  above  as  preventable, 
omitting  "incompetence  in  present  position",  and  discuss  in  the  light  of 
them  the  following  topics: 

Are  teachers  welcome  and  made  to  feel  that  they  are  a  part  of  the  life 
of  the  town?  Are  unnecessary  restricticns  placed  upon  their  freedom,  such 
as  would  not  be  placed  on  workers  in  other  fields,  which  hinder  their  leading  a 
happy  life  in  the  community?  What  agencies  other  than  the  church 
make  teachers  feel  at  home?  What  can  this  club  do  to  make  the  com- 
munity more  pleasant  as  a  permanent  dwelling  place  for  teachers?  Dis- 
cuss the  teacherage  or  teachers'  cottage  (see  U.  S.  bulletin  "Teachers' 
Cottages")  and  discuss  with  the  teachers  the  advisability  of  this  means 
of  giving  teachers  a  real  home  to  live  in. 

4.      Supervision  of  Teachers 

Supervision  and  suggestion  are  found  a  fruitful  means  of  eliminating 
incompetency  in  teaching.  Principals  should  make  regular  and  frequent 
visits  for  the  purpose  of  finding  out  what  work  is  being  done  in  the  various 
grades  and  for  making  helpful  suggestions  where  there  are  opportunities 
for  improvement. 

What  teachers  during  the  past  ten  years  have  left  the  local  school 
because  they  have  been  listed  as  incompetent?  Could  anything  have 
been  done  through  supervision  to  have  prevented  this? 

Get  the  principal  to  give  a  talk  upon  supervision  and  its  possibilities. 
Let  each  teacher  tell  briefly  what  changes  in  her  work  or  strengthening 
of  her  work  she  owes  to  supervision  by  the  principal;  how  supervision 
has  helped  during  her  former  experience,  and  what  bothersome  problems 
might  be  so'ved  through  closer  interest  and  more  frequent  visitation. 

Does  your  principal  have  to  teach  so  much  that  he  cannot  supervise? 

5.      Training  of  Teachers 

Make  a  study  of  the  academic  training  of  all  teachers  now  working 
in  your  school — high  school  graduates,  high  school  with  teachers'  training 
course,  county  training  school,  normal  elementary  course,  normal  full 
course,  some  college  work,  etc.  Make  the  same  study  for  each  of  the 
last  five  years  to  see  whether  standards  have  been  going  up  or  down. 

How  many  teachers  wish  to  increase  their  training?  Can  the  board 
grant  leave  of  absence  in  the  case  of  a  good  teacher  to  encourage  her 
taking  advanced  educational  work  with  the  certainty  of  a  position  with 
a  salary  increase  when  she  is  through? 

Find  out  in  the  case  of  the  present  teachers  how  many  have  attended 
summer  session  courses  since  beginning  teaching  work.  Find  out  this 
also  for  teachers  during  the  past  five  years  and  compare.  Summer  work 
for  teachers  is  very  important  as  it  shows  whether  or  not  they  are  anxious 
to  keep  out  of  an  educational  rut  and  to  advance  themselves  profession- 
ally all  the  time. 

One  Wisconsin  city  asks  in  its  contract  of  those  teachers  who  have  been 
out  in  work  five  years  that  they  take  some  summer  professional  work  at 


THE  SCHOOL  TEACHER  51 

college  or  normal  school.     This  city  has  a  remarkable  record  as  to  the 
length  of  time  during  which  teachers  fill  local  positions. 

What  can  the  club  do  to  make  possible  attendance  at  summer  schools, 
short  courses,  institutes,  etc.,  on  the  part  of  teachers? 


6.      Salaries  of  Teachers 

Classify  the  salaries  paid  to  local  teachers  in  groups  by  intervals  of 
$5.00,— less  than  $40,  $40  to  $44,  $45  to  $49,  etc.  Put  the  salary  on  a 
twelve  month  basis — divide  the  yearly  salary  by  twelve.  Now  make  a 
comparative  list  of  other  salaried  officials  in  the  town  whose  training  and 
qualifications  are  about  as  high  as  those  of  the  teaching  force.  How  do 
these  compare?  Find  out  from  the  records  what  salaries  were  paid  to  local 
teachers  ten  years  ago.  The  cost  of  living  has  gone  up  82  per  cent  during 
the  past  ten  years.  *  Have  salaries  advanced  to  a  commensurate  degree? 

In  connection  with  this  subject  study  the  analysis  of  teachers'  salaries 
and  the  cost  of  living  prepared  by  a  committee  in  Oshkosh  (see  intro- 
duction), get  one  of  the  teachers  to  outline  her  yearly  budget,  and,  if 
possible  without  offending,  find  out  how  many  of  the  teachers  save.  Do 
not  compare  salaries  paid  in  your  locatity  with  those  of  other  localities, 
as  the  question  to  be  determined  throughout  this' course  of  study  is  not, 
how  do  our  schools  come  up  to  those  of  our  neighbors,  but,  how  do  our 
schools  fall  short  of  their  possible  efficiency? 


7.     Number  of  Pupils  Per  Teacher 

No  teacher  can  do  her  best  work  with  an  enrollment  of  over  40  pupils. 
The  best  number  will  be  found  to  be  about  30.  The  University  of  Wis- 
consin, according  to  the  U.  S.  Statistical  Report,  has  one  teacher  for 
every  10%)  pupils.  One  of  the  large  high  schools  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin 
has  28|  pupils  per  teacher.  One  city  has  in  its  grades  45  pupils  per  teacher, 
and  while  separate  figures  for  high  school  and  grades  are  not  available 
for  the  state  as  a  whole,  it  is  probable  that  the  average  number  of  children 
per  grade  teacher  in  the  cities  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin  is  not  much 
less  than  45.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  overcrowding  should  be 
in  the  part  of  the  school  system  which  furnishes  the  beginning  and  the 
end  of  education  to  a  majority  of  the  pupils.  (See  plate  XIII). 

Find  out  the  number  of  pupils  under  each  teacher  in  the  grades.  What 
is  the  average?  (Add  enrollments  and  divide  by  total  number  of  teachers.) 
Get  figures  for  the  high  school  as  well  by  dividing  the  total  number  of 
pupil  hours  which  a  teacher  has  by  the  number  of  classes  taught  in  one 
day,  thus  getting  the  average  number  of  pupils  under  the  teachers'  super- 
vision. 

Now,  determine  at  what  points  in  the  system  the  large  classes  come. 
Are  these  points  where  teachers  can  handle  a  large  number,  or  do  teachers 
of  these  grades  need  to  do  a  good  deal  of  individual  work?* 

*This  figure  is  given  in  the  "Report  on  Teachers'  Salaries  and  the  Cost  of  Liv- 
ing," prepared  by  a  committee  in  the  Oshkosh  schools.  (See  introduction.) 

*The  law  of  Wisconsin  requires  two  teachers  in  a  rural  school  where  65  or  more 
pupils  attend  for  20  consecutive  days. 


52         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


CAN  THE  TEACHER  TEACH 

Grade  1  58  children 

Grade  2  42  children 

Grade  3  46  children 

Gr*de  4  43  children 

Grade  5  38  children 

.      Grade  6  35  children 

Grade  7  39  children 

Grade  8  31  children 

* 

In  the  high  school  there  is  one  teacher  for  each  25  pupils 
In  the  University  there  is  one  teacher  for  each  11  pupils 

We  can 

Hire  an  assistant  teacher  for  special  grade  work 
Let  best  high  school  pupils  do  practice  teaching 
Section  the  first  grade 


IS  IT  WORTH  WHILE  TO  GIVE  A  BEGINNING  PUPIL 
MORE  THAN  1-58  OF  A  TEACHER? 


PLATE   XIII 


SECTION  VIII.      KINDERGARTEN 


Note:  Among  the  possible  charts  illustrating  this  section  should  be  an  enlarged 
photograph  of  the  4  and  5  year  olds  in  the  kindergarten  at  play,  and,  if  possible,  a 
little  play-room  at  the  exhibit,  in  which  the  children  are  carrying  on  their  kinder- 
garten work  under  the  direction  of  the  kindergarten  teacher.  If  a  kindergarten  has 
not  been  established,  photographs  should  be  obtained  from  other  sources  (the  Mil- 
waukee State  Normal  School,  National  Kindergarten  Association,  etc.)  and,  if 
possible,  a  trained  kindergartener  should  be  secured  for  the  time  of  the  exhibit  to 
show  how  the  work  can  be  done,  with  a  class  of  the  local  children  who  might  be  in 
the  kindergarten,  if  there  were  one. 

1.    Facts  about  Kindergartens 

In  the  number  of  cities  and  villages  having  kindergartens  Wisconsin 
leads  with  142,  Michigan  is  second  with  128,  and  New  York  third  with  92. 
In  the  number  of  kindergartens  New  York  leads,  Ohio  is  second,  and 
Wisconsin  is  third.  In  the  percentage  of  the  total  number  of  children 
4  to  6  years  old  enrolled  in  kindergartens  in  1914  Wisconsin  is  the  second 
of  the  states  of  the  union,  New  Jersey  being  first,  District  of  Columbia 
third,  Connecticut  fourth,  and  New  York  fifth.  (Write  National  Kinder- 
garten Association,  250  Madison  Avenue,  New  York  City,  for  bulletins 
and  pamphlets). 

2.    The  Establishment  of  a  Kindergarten* 

In  localities  where  there  are  a  large  number  of  children  4  or  5  years  old, 
the  establishment  of  a  kindergarten  becomes  a  pressing  question,  as, 
otherwise,  these  children  are  apt  to  crowd  into  school  and  disorganize  the 
work  of  the  lower  grade  rooms. 

Look  up  the  number  of  children  4  or  5  years  of  age  in  the  district.   (See 
section  1,  topic  1). 

Total  number  of  children  4  or  5  years  old 

Number  outside  of  school 

Number  inside  school 

Number  enrolled  in  school  4  years  old 

Number  enrolled  in  school  5  years  old 


Get  the  records  of  the  first  grade,  promotions  for  the  last  two  years,  and 
separate  the  children  into  those  4,  5,  6,  7  and  above,  years  old. 

How  many  of  the  4  year  olds  passed  into  second  grade? 

How  many  of  the  5  year  olds? 

How  many  of  each  failed  to  pass? 


The  first  grade  teacher  should  be  a  member  of  the  committee  making 
this  study.  Have  her  give  a  talk  on  the  progress  of  under  age  children, 
bringing  out  the  fact  that  such  children  do  not  progress  as  they  should  and 
constitute  a  drag  upon  the  work  of  the  other  children  in  the  grade. 

*In  cities  which  have  kindergartens,  this  topic  should  be  omitted. 


54         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

Take  up  the  children  4  or  5  years  old  outside  of  school.  What  do  they 
do  with  their  time?  How  many  of  them  would  profit  by  a  kindergarten, 
were  one  opened? 

Estimate  cost  of  the  kindergarten,  total  and  cost  per  child.  Construct 
charts  showing  the  facts  outlined  above  and  the  remedy — to  establish  a 
kindergarten.  (See  plate  XIV) 


3.      The  Work  of  the  Kindergarten* 

Where  a  kindergarten  has  been  established,  it  is  necessary  to  be  sure 
that  the  kindergarten  is  doing  the  best  work  possible.  If  not  all  chil- 
dren 4  to  5  years  old  attend  the  kindergarten,  its  advantages  should  be 
brought  to  the  attention  of  their  parents.  If  the  training  of  the  kinder- 
garten teacher  has  not  been  adequate,  she  should  be  encouraged  to 
extend  this  training. 

Out  of  the  total  number  of  children  4  to  5  years  old,  how  many  are  found 
enrolled  in  the  kindergarten?  How  many  attend  part  time?  How 
great  a  proportion  of  its  possible  pupils  does  the  kindergarten  serve? 

How  many  kindergartners  have  been  employed  in  tho  district  during 
the  past  five  years?  What  has  been  the  training  of  these  and  what 
salary  has  been  paid?  Kindergartners,  as  well  as  grade  teachers,  should 
have  the  specialized  training  necessary  to  fit  them  for  their  work. 


4.     The  Montessori  Method  f 

What  is  the  Montessori  method?  What  of  its  teachings  are  valid  and 
w;hat  seem  invalid?  Is  the  Montessori  method  being  used  to  any  extent 
to  supplement  the  kindergarten? 


5.     Benefits  of  the  Kindergarten 

Has  the  kindergarten  fulfilled  its  purpose?  Get  a  symposium  of  com- 
ments from  mothers  of  children  who  have  attended  kindergarten  on 
"What  the  Kindergarten  Has  Done  for  My  Child".  Take  a  group  of 
20  children  who  have  attended  kindergarten  and  are  now  attending  first 
grade;  take  also  a  group  of  first  grade  children  cf  like  age  who  have  not 
attended  kindergarten  and  compare  the  records  of  the  two  as  to  the  qual- 
ity of  work  done.  Which  group  as  a  whole  stands  higher?  Ask  the 
first  grade  teacher  to  speak  on  the  difference  between  kindergarten  and 
non-kindergarten  children  in  their  ability  to  learn  to  read,  to  learn  to 
spell,  to  do  any  of  the  other  first  grade  work.  Keep  in  mind  throughout 
that  this  does  not  mean  that  each  individual  child  who  attends  kinder- 
garten will  be  better  than  every  individual  child  who  does  not.  It  is 
merely  a  question  of  training  making  a  group  more  efficient. 


*This  topic  is  to  be  studied  in  communities  where  kindergartens  have  been 
established. 

fin  connection  with  this  topic  use  Bulletin  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education  1914,  No. 
28,  "The  Montessori  Method  in  the  Kindergarten." 


KINDERGARTEN 


55 


LET'S  HAVE  A  KINDERGARTEN! 


Out  of  140  children  4  or   5   years  old,   55  attend   school 


All 


None  pass  to  second  grade 

hinder  other  children 

take  2  or  3  years  to  cover  1  year's  work 

miss  full  attention  of  teacher 

c^use  extra  expense  to  school  system 


Insert     photograph    of 
kindcrgarden 


In  Kindergarten 

Children  are  happy 

Receive  work  fitted  for  their  age 

Allow  grade  teacher  to  give  full  time  to  grade  children 

WE  WANT  A  KINDERGARTEN! 


PLATE  XIV 


56         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


SECTION  IX— THE  LOWER  GRADES,  1  to  4 


1.      Sub-primary 

The  organization  of  school  systems  with  regard  to  the  children  who 
are  4  and  5  years  old  differs  very  widely  in  different  schools.  Systems 
sometimes  found  are: 

(a)  Children  under  6  attend  kindergarten.     There  is  one  first  grade 
and  one  second  grade  and  children  spend  one  year  in  each,  entering  the 
first  grade  at  the  age  of  6  or  7. 

(b)  There  is  no  kindergarten.     All  children  enter  school  at  6  or  7  years 
of  age.     No  children  less  than  6  years  old  attend. 

(c)  There  is  no  kindergarten — some  children  under  6  come  to  school 
in  the  sub-primary  class  for  a  shortened  session  with  no  technical  work 
in  reading  etc.     All  children  6  or  (entering)  7  go  into  the  first  grade  for 
one  year,  then  into  the  second  year. 

(d)  The  sub-primary  takes  all  children  as  they  enter  and  gives  a 
year's  attempt  at  academic  work.     Six  year  old  children  are  retarded  as 
all  children  must  take  at  least  two  years  to  complete  first  grade  work. 

(e)  Sometimes  in  addition  to  the  first  two  grades  there  is  a  B  II  and 
an  A  II  both  of  which  take  a  year  to  complete. 

The  first  plan  is  the  best  and  the  others  poorer  in  order.  The  last  two 
ought  never  be  found  as  they  keep  back  entering  6  and  7  year  olds  at  the 
very  start,  overcrowd  the  teacher  with  work,  and  spread  a  normal  year's 
work  over  two  or  more  years,  thus  wasting  time. 

What  is  the  plan  in  your  school?  Make  a  complete  study  of  its  organ- 
ization with  regard  to  beginning  children.  Do  the  children  like  this 
system?  If  not,  and  if  it  is  not  a  good  one,  see  what  can  be  done. 

2.      Reading — First  Grade 

Use  Bulletin  on  Reading  by  Miss  Reynolds  published  by  the  State 
Department  of  Public  Instruction.  Use  also  the  Wisconsin  Common 
School  Manual. 

Reading  is  without  question  the  most  important  subject  in  the  primary 
grades.  If  children  can  read  easily  and  intelligently  they  will  have  no 
trouble  with  later  school  work.  If  they  are  not  given  the  training  which 
will  make  them  good  readers,  their  later  education  becomes  difficult  and 
to  a  great  extent  worthless. 

It  is  essential  that  children  read  correctly  in  starting,  have  plenty  of 
time  for  reading,  and  read  much.  The  amount  of  reading  which  children 
can  do  well  will  be  found  to  vary.  In  rural  or  state  graded  schools,  it 
is  impossible  to  read  as  much  as  in  city  schools  where  a  teacher  has  only 
one  grade.  Many  teachers  find  that  there  is  not  time  enough  in  the 
school  year  to  read  more  than  one,  or  at  most,  two  books.  Other  teachers 
with  an  equal  number  of  pupils  find  that  children  in  the  first  grade  may 
profit  from  reading  a  large  number  of  primers  and  first  readers.  It  is 


THE  LOWER  GRADES,  1  TO  4  57 

not  uncommon  in  the  city  of  Milwaukee  for  a  first  grade  to  read  twelve  to 
fifteen  books  in  the  year.  The  Wisconsin  city  using  the  greatest  number  of 
first  grade  reading  texts  is  River  Falls,  where  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
first  grade  reading  texts  are  read  yearly;  but  this  example  can  probably 
not  be  emulated  by  the  majority  of  schools. 

With  the  teacher's  permission,  visit  several  reading  lessons.  Get 
from  the  teacher  the  number  of  books  which  have  been  read  so  far  during 
the  year,  and  the  number  of  pages  in  all  those  books.  Find  out  from  the 
pupils  how  many,  if  any,  have  read  a  story  book  or  stories  during  the 
year  which  were  not  in  the  class  readers,  and  find  out  what  stories  these 
were.  Get  the  teacher  to  make  an  estimate  as  to  the  amount  of  ground 
the  child  will  cover  before  the  end  of  the  year  and  ask  her  to  talk  to  the 
club  on  ways  and  means  for  increasing  the  quantity  an  quality  of  children's 
reading — more  or  better  texts,  more  time  for  reading,  etc. 

Ask  the  teacher  if  the  children  can  do  sight  reading  well  and  test  your 
own  child  on  some  reading  of  this  sort  to  see  what  the  quality  of  his  or 
her  work  is.  Arrange  with  the  teacher,  if  possible,  for  an  exhibit  of  chil- 
dren's reading,  at  which  each  child  in  the  class  reads  new  material.  Be 
careful  that  children  are  not  tested  on  old  material,  as  often  this  becomes 
merely  an  exercise  in  memorizing. 

Is  there  enough  material  in  the  school  so  that  the  teacher  may  have 
first  graders  read  eight  or  ten  books?  If  there  is  not  material  how  can  it 
be  acquired?  Primers  cost  from  25  cents  to  40  cents  apiece.  Often 
other  neighboring  schools  will  exchange  sets  of  primers  not  in  use  or  loan 
them  to  your  school  for  the  use  of  the  children.  Cannot  the  school 
board  be  induced  to  buy  necessary  reading  material? 

Many  schools  lack  reading  material  in  the  school  library  suitable  for 
children  in  the  lower  grades.  If  this  is  the  case  in  the  local  schools,  what 
can  be  done  about  it? 


3.      Reading — Other  Primary  Grades 

Make  the  same  sort  of  study  in  the  second,  third  and  fourth  grades. 
Note  the  date  of  publication  of  the  reading  textbooks.  Are  these  books 
in  good  condition?  Are  they  of  recent  publication? 


4.     Arithmetic 

Some  schools  omit  number-work  in  the  first  grade  entirely  and  devote 
all  their  time  to  reading  and  busy  work.  This  has  been  found  to  work 
out  well  where  the  children  read  a  good  deal,  as  they  get  the  numbers 
from  the  paging  in  the  reading  books,  and  the  elementary  combinations 
are  known  to  the  ordinary  child  of  6  or  7  years.  An  alert  teacher  can 
work  these  in  without  formal  lessons. 

The  great  question  to  solve  in  arithmetic  is  "Is  this  subject  preparing 
my  child  for  what  he  or  she  needs  to  know  in  later  life?"  There  will  be 
no  doubt  that  the  combinations  and  fundamental  processes  will  do  this. 
The  problem  is  slightly  different  in  the  upper  grades,  and  will  be  taken 
up  in  the  next  chapter. 


58         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

With  the  teacher's  permission,  visit  the  arithmetic  class  and  describe 
the  methods  used  by  the  club.  It  may  be  interesting  to  arrange  with 
the  principal  a  number-contest  between  the  3rd  and  4th  grades,  in  which 
they  count  each  other  down  on  the  multiplication  table  and  other  number 
fundamentals.  Notice  the  arithmetic  texts  to  be  sure  that  they  are 
recent  and  in  good  condition.  * 

5.      Seat  Work 

The  problem  of  keeping  children  busy  in  school  is  one  of  the  hardest 
to  be  met  by  the  teacher.  She  needs  a  good  seat  work  equipment 
and  if  she  has  a  very  large  enrollment,  a  part-time  assistant  from  among 
the  upper  grades  or  high  school.  Such  a  book  as  "Educative  Seat  Work" 
may  be  used  here  to  advantage. 

Spend  a  half  session  in  each  of  the  first  and  second  grade  rooms.  Notice 
carefully  what  the  children  not  reciting  are  doing.  Are  they  busy  or 
idle?  Has  their  work  a  purpose  or  does  it  seem  indefinite  and  meaning- 
less? Take  stock  of  the  seat  work  material  in  the  schoolroom.  How 
often  is  it  used?  Do  the  children  enjoy  it?  Does  it  help  at  all  in  their 
regular  lessons? 

If  the  children  are  not  being  kept  busy,  it  is  a  positive  detriment  to 
them  in  school  work,  as  they  learn  to  be  contented  in  school  while  doing 
nothing.  Talk  over  possible  remedies.  Often  the  better  students  from 
the  upper  grades  or  high  school  will  be  glad  to  go  down  from  time  to  time 
to  the  primary  grades  and  supervise  seat  work  of  the  children. 

6.      Writing  and  Spelling 

Many  schools  consider  that  these  subjects  should  not  be  taught  in  the 
first  grade.  Children  in  the  lower  grades  should  not  write  with  a  pen 
and  should  have  paper  with  lines  very  wide  apart,  to  give  the  hand  free 
movement  and  prevent  it  from  becoming  cramped.  Words  for  spelling 
should  in  the  lower  grades  be  taken  largely  from  the  words  misspelled 
by  the  children  themselves. 

Get  the  teacher  to  talk  on  methods  of  teaching  these  subjects  or  make 
report  on  descriptions  of  them  contained  in  the  Common  School  Manual 
or  one  of  the  book  references  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 

7.     The  Day's  Program 

With  the  teacher,  make  out  for  each  of  the  lower  grades  a  table  showing 
the  amount  of  time  given  to  each  of  the  grade  subjects  during  the  day. 
Make  a  table  such  as  the  following: 

Subjects  Minutes 

Reading  

Writing  

Arithmetic  

Spelling  

Seat  work 

Recess 

Opening  exercises  

Industrial  work  


*Schools  may  well  be  encouraged  to  use  some  standard  test  in  arithmetic.    Apply 
to  the  State  Department  for  help  and  suggestion  concerning  tests  of  this  sort. 


THE  LOWER  GRADES,   1  TO  4  59 

Arrange  the  studies  according  to  the  amount  of  time  taken  for  each — • 
the  one  taking  most  time,  first,  and  the  one  taking  least  time,  last.  Add 
up  the  total  to  find  how  many  minutes  there  are  in  the  school  day  and 
divide  this  total  into  each  of  the  different  numbers  to  find  the  per  cent  of 
time  given  to  the  various  school  activities. 

You  should  expect  in  the  first  grade  to  find  reading  taking  the  most 
time,  although  this  percentage  will  naturally  decrease  in  the  higher  grades. 
Are  there  any  activities  that  seem  to  need  more  time  than  is  given  to 
them?  Let  the  teacher  discuss  the  arrangement  of  subjects  and  her 
ideas  as  to  its  adequacy  or  inadequacy. 

Bibliography 

Educative  Seat  Work — by  Worst  and  Keith 

Common  School  Manual — State  Department  of  Public  Instruction 

Teaching  the  Common  Branches — by  W.  W.  Charters,  Houghton, 
Miflflin  Co.,  New  York. 

Teaching  Children  to  Read — by  Clapper,  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  Chicago, 
Ills. 


SECTION  X— UPPER  GRADES  4  to  8 


1.     Textbooks 

With  the  teacher  look  over  the  textbooks  which  are  being  used  in  the 
upper  grades  and  see  in  what  condition  they  are  (torn,  need  repairing,  etc.) 
Cannot  some  of  the  repairing  work  be  done  by  the  children  themselves?* 

Notice  when  the  textbooks  were  published,  and  discuss  with  the  teacher 
whether  they  seem  at  present  adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  children.  Is 
there  enough  supplementary  and  reference  material  in  subjects  such  as 
history,  geography,  etc.?  Members  of  the  committee  should  ask  their 
own  children  for  their  opinion  on  the  school  textbooks,  as  their  criti- 
cisms may  contain  suggestions.  If  the  teacher  reports  that  textbooks  are 
not  adequate,  the  possibility  of  adding  to  the  supply  should  be  discussed. 

If  the  school  has  not  free  texts,  this  possibility  should  be  discussed. 
Advantages  of  free  texts  are:  make  school  easier  for  poor  children,  less  of 
a  hardship  if  texts  are  changed;  books  apt  to  be  in  better  condition  as 
school  can  supervise.  Advantages  of  pupil-owned  texts  are:  less 
expensive  for  school  district  as  a  whole;  enables  the  child  to  have  his 
own  books  to  keep;  can  be  made  more  sanitary"  when  supervised  by 
family. 

Have  free  textbooks  ever  been  fumigated  or  disinfected?  It  is  essen- 
tial to  the  health  of  the  school  children  that  precautions  be  taken  to  be 
sure  that  infection  is  not  carried  through  textbooks.  Find  out  how 
many  years  sets  of  textbooks  have  been  in  the  building;  how  often  they 
have  been  sterilized  or  disinfected,  and  how  many  epidemics  have  been 
found  in  the  various  rooms  since  their  adoption. 

Magazines  are  more  and  more  coming  to  be  used  as  texts  in  the  school. 
Such  papers  as  "Current  Events",  "The  Little  Chronicle",  "The  Inde- 
pendent", "The  Outlook",  and  ethers  are  being  used  as  material  for 
reading  history,  geography,  and  other  subjects.  What  does  the  teacher 
think  of  the  use  of  this  form  of  text?  Discuss  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages. 

2.     Class  Work  and  Study 

Efficient  study  will  do  more  than  any  other  one  thing  to  make  children 
good  pupils  in  school.  Studying  at  home  is  to  be  minimized  as  much  as 
possible  in  the  grades.  It  is  probably  the  case  that  children  in  the  first 
two  years  of  school  are  not  capable  of  what  is  commonly  known  as  study- 
ing. Home  conditions  are  often  not  conducive  to  successful  study. 

Let  the  mothers  composing  the  committee  making  this  study  determine 
from  their  children  or  from  other  upper  grade  children  how  often  they 
study  at  home.  What  are  the  conditions  under  which  home  study 
is  done?  Are  mothers  always  careful  to  give  the  children  a  quiet 

*A  New  York  school  found  that  by  having  school  boys  build  a  green  house, 
window  breaking  in  the  school  was  done  away  with.  This  principle  will  be  found 
helpful  in  many  cases. 


UPPER  GRADES,  4  TO  8  61 

place  in  which  to  study?  Are  children  interrupted  to  run  errands,  carry 
in  wood,  wash  the  dishes,  etc.,  or  is  a  definite  schedule  made  whereby 
there  is  a  time  in  the  child's  day  for  the  performance  of  home  duties  and 
a  time  set  apart  for  study? 

Get  the  teacher  to  talk  on  the  question  of  whether  children  need  to 
study  at  home  or  not.  Is  the  case  of  the  children  studied  above  typical 
as  to  amount  of  home  study  performed?  If  these  children  need  to  study 
at  home  less  than  the  average,  can  not  the  need  for  home  study  be  done 
away  with  in  the  case  of  the  others?  Calculate  the  amount  of  study  time 
during  the  school  session.  Is  this  time  fully  used  by  the  pupils?  It  has 
been  calculated  that  if  schools  were  run  on  a  task,  instead  of  a  time  basis — 
that  is,  if  the  requirement  for  dismissal  was  performance  of  a  given  task 
instead  of  the  coming  of  a  given  hour — a  school  session  would  be  much 
shorter  than  it  now  is,  as  children  would  be  stimulated  to  their  full  activity. 
This  task  system  to  be  sure  is  at  present  impractical  as  a  device. 

Let  the  teacher  discuss  which  subjects  are  most  frequently  taken  home 
to  study.  Arithmetic  is  one  which  is  very  often  used  for  home  study 
and  it  is  perhaps  the  worst  for  this  purpose,  as  children  can  get  their 
examples  done  for  them  at  home  in  arithmetic  most  easily,  and  there  is 
least  necessity  of  the  child's  gaining  knowledge  from  the  study  period. 

3.     Training  for  Citizenship 

The  question  of  training  for  patriotism  and  citizenship  is  one  which 
has  recently  acquired  large  interest.  There  are  probably  few  schools  in 
which  there  is  no  study  of  current  events.  It  is  not  so  frequently  the 
case,  however,  that  pupils  are  aroused  to  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
locality — voting,  the  town  or  city  organizations,  local  and  national 
politics,  and  functions  of  local  boards  and  officials,  etc.  In  New  York 
City  patriotism  and  the  duties  of  citizens  are  emphasized  in  assemblies, 
class  exercises,  flag  salutes,  through  national  airs  for  singing  and  marching, 
holiday  speeches,  etc. 

"The  duties  of  patriotism  are  emphasized  in  civics  and  current  events 
courses;  by  visits  to  "city  fathers";  by  addresses  of  public  officers  explain- 
ing citizen  relation  to  the  fire  and  health  departments,  etc;  by  moving 
picture  reels  showing  how  fire,  disease  and  disaster  are  prevented  or  dealt 
with;  by  visitation  of  school  by  Grand  Army  Posts  to  make  pupils  realize 
what  patriotism  may  cost."* 

4.     Examinations 

There  is  perhaps  no  branch  of  the  modern  public  school  system  which 
is  more  in  need  of  revision  than  the  system  of  examinations  at  present 
prevailing.  The  examination  should  be  a  test  of  the  pupil's  ability  to 
use  whal  he  has  been  taught.  It  should  therefore  be  practical  and  con- 
nected with  concrete  experience'and  should  involve  some  active  reasoning 
on  the  part  of  the  child,  as  well  as  a  memory  of  the  subject  studied. 

The  failure  of  examinations  to  indicate  practical  ability  was  shown  in 
Springfield,  Mass.,  where  a  group  of  prominent  business  and  professional 

*"High  Spots  in  New  York  Schools"  by  Wm.  H.  Allen,  Institute  for  Public 
Service,  New  York  City. 

S.C— 3 


62         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

men  were  given  a  set  of  seventh  grade  examinations  in  the  various  school 
subjects.  The  results  showed  that  these  men  were  easily  surpassed  by 
the  average  seventh  grader  in  ability  to  pass  the  questions  and  yet  there 
could  be  no  question  about  the  greater  ability  of  these  men  in  a  practical 
way.  Examinations  of  the  same  sort  have  been  given  to  other  groups 
of  successful  and  cultured  people  and  the  results  have  never  failed  to 
show  that  the  things  which  have  been  used  in  life  are  ordinarily  not  the 
things  which  examinations  test. 

Let  the  teacher  try  on  the  club  members  a  set  of  examinations  given 
to  seventh  graders  and  mark  the  members  of  the  club  as  she  would  mark 
the  children.  Discuss  the  questions  with  the  teacher  to  see  which  of 
them  show  knowledge  that  would  be  of  definite  use  to  the  children  in 
life.  Discuss  other  examination  questions  taken  from  grade  examinations 
to  see  whether  these  seem  to  test  knowledge  which  can  be  used  by  the 
child. 

Are  any  examination  "follow-ups"  used?  Very  often  when  results 
in  examinations  are  poor,  there  is  a  definite  practical  reason  or  bearing 
of  the  fact.  It  may  mean  that  the  teaching  is  not  what  it  should  be. 
It  may  mean  that  the  children's  discipline  is  poor,  or  that  there  are  out- 
side distractions  which  keep  the  children  from  doing  the  work  they  should. 
This  should  be  analyzed  at  the  close  of  each  examination. 

Do  pupUs  dread  examinations?  Can  they  be  shown  to  be  a  definite 
strain  on  the  pupils?  Many  good  schools  offer  exemption  from  exami- 
nations for  pupils  having  good  class  standings.  Let  the  upper  grade 
teachers  tell  whether  examinations  are  needed  in  order  to  show  where 
the  children  stand.  In  how  many  cases  could  the  teacher  mark  the  child 
before  the  examination  as  accurately  as  the  examination  mark?  Standard 
tests  in  the  fundamental  subjects  (See  introduction)  are  sometimes 
given  the  child  at  regular  intervals  to  grade  improvement  in  a  given  time. 
This  is  a  possible  variation  on  the  conventional  examination. 

5.      Subject  Contests 

Many  schools  find  that  it  stimulates  interest  to  have  subject  contests 
between  pupils.  An  algebra  contest  recently  held  in  Minneapolis  pro- 
voked great  enthusiasm  in  this  subject  among  high  school  children. 
County  contests  are  now  generally  held  in  spelling,  arithmetic,  industrial 
subjects,  etc. 

Arrange  with  the  teacher  for  a  contest  in  sixth  grade  geography  or  in 
some  one  of  the  grade  subjects  between  pupils  of  the  local  school  and  of 
some  other  school.  Let  the  pupils  know  about  this  some  time  in  advance 
to  be  sure  that  their  enthusiasm  and  interest  are  aroused.  Does  such  a 
contest  as  this  help  the  work  in  this  subject?  Can  the  system  well  be 
extended  to  others? 

6.      Correlation  of  School  Work  and  Life 

The  trend  of  the  modern  school  is  toward  using  the  activities  of  out- 
of-school  life  as  material  for  school  training.  Take  up  separately  each 
one  of  the  common  school  subjects  for  discussion.  What  training  do 


UPPER  GRADES,  4  TO  8 


63 


you  want  your  child  to  receive  in,  for  example,  reading,  which  will  be  of 
most  use  to  him  or  her  outside  of  school?  What  are  the  practical  ways  in 
which  this  subject  will  be  used  by  the  child  who  goes  through  school? 
(Bear  in  mind  that  use  may  lie  in  several  directions  instead  of  in  the  one 
direction  of  training  to  earn  a  living.  See  section  1,  topic  1) 

A  few  of  the  ways  in  which  subjects  may  be  correlated  with  life  are:* 


PLATE   XV 

From  "High  Spots  on  New  York  Schools"  by  W.  H.  Allen 


Arithmetic;  Model  stores,  home  account  keeping  of  children,  school 
savings  banks,  use  of  life  insurance  charts,  management  of  school  business, 
school  bank,  school  lunch  rooms,  and  other  work  of  correlation  that 
needs  to  be  done. 


*Use  in  connection  with  this  topic  "High  Spots  in  New  York  Schools,"  Institute 
for  Public  Service,  51  Chambers  St.,  N.  Y.  city. 


64        SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

Geography,  Excursions  to  nearby  points,  physical  geography  trips  to 
factories,  district  surveys,  moving  pictures,  use  of  current  magazines, 
building  up  of  school  museums. 

Civics:  Visits  to  polling  places,  participation  in  community  activities 
such  as  "Clean-Up-Day,"  interviews  with  officers  of  local  government, 
such  as  aldermen,  marshals,  etc.,  conducting  of  complaint  bureau,  writing 
and  acting  of  civic  life  plays,  self-government. 

Hygiene  and  Physiology:  Interviews  with  boards  of  health,  sanitation 
surveys  of  the  district,  fresh  air  band,  hygiene  inspection  drills,  instal- 
lation of  shower  baths  in  school. 

Reading:  Reading  to  hospital  patients  and  shut-ins  for  school  credit, 
reading  at  home,  reading  and  following  directions  in  industrial  and 
construction  work. 

Writing:  Writing  letters  of  application  for  positions,  writing  for  bulle- 
tins, circulars,  etc.  writing  contests  in  school. 

Discuss  with  the  teacher  the  practicability  of  these  and  other  sug- 
gestions in  this  field. 

7.     Miscellaneous 

The  club  can  help  in  forming  and  directing  special  day  programs  for 
grade  children. 

Study  may  be  made  of  reference  reading  in  the  grades  to  see  how  many 
children  are  stimulated  by  their  grade  studies  to  be  reading  related  books 
on  their  own  initiative. 

A  study  of  school  credit  for  home  work  may  be  made  with  a  view  to 
the  introduction  of  this  in  the  school  curriculum.  (See  bulletin  No.  18, 
Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Madison,  Wisconsin.) 


SECTION  XI.    DISCIPLINE  AND  MORAL  INSTRUC 

TION 

Use  pamphlets,  Self-Government  Committee,  2  Wall  Street,  New  York  City. 

1.      Moral  Instruction 

The  school  and  home  must  cooperate  not  only  in  making  the  child  an 
intelligent  citizen,  but  in  forming  his  character  to  make  him  of  good  moral 
nature.  First,  the  aims  of  moral  instruction  should  be  taken. up  and 
discussed  and,  second,  the  means  to  attain  these  ends. 

Collect  from  the  committee  members  and  individual  club  members  a 
symposium  on  the  aims  of  directed  moral  development  and  the  amount 
of  such  instruction  which  can  be  and  is  given  at  home.  What  phases 
of  character  do  not  appear  'n  the  home  and  can  be  better  treated  in  the 
school?  What  ones  do  appear  in  the  home,  but  on  account  of  reasons 
such  as  the  reluctance  of  mothers  to  treat  them,  can  be  better  treated  in 
the  school? 

Moral  instruction  is  of  two  kinds,  direct  and  indirect.  Direct  moral 
instruction  aims  to  teach  through  precept,  study,  and  lecture  the  rules 
of  conduct.  Indirect  moral  instruction  includes  development  through 
the  lesson  of  the  particular  occasion  as  it  arises  through  unexpressed 
morals  in  stories,  good  examples,  and  the  inevitable .  consequences  of 
immoral  acts.  Discuss  the  place  in  school  for  each  of  these  branches  of 
moral  instruction.  Can  either  be  entirely  omitted? 

Is  any  moral  instruction  given  in  the  school  and  if  so,  is  it  direct  or 
indirect?  How  can  the  home  and  school  cooperate  along  this  line? 
Let  each  teacher  tell  what  her  ideas  relating  to  this  subject  are  and  how 
she  works  them  out.  Other  topics  in  this  section  will  suggest  some 
possible  ways  of  organizing  moral  instruction  in  the  school. 

2.     The  Rule  of  Fear 

Many  parents  and  teachers  follow  Solomon's  dictum  as  to  the  rod  and 
the  child.  Many  others  feel  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  hurt  a  child  to 
make  him  good  and  that  fear  is  a  degenerating  rather  than  an  ennobling 
influence.  These  people  feel  that  "mischief"  is  often  the  outcome  of  an 
over-supply  of  energy  which  should  be  directed  instead  of  being  supressed 
and  punished.  The  child  who  makes  trouble  in  home  or  schoolroom  is 
frequently  the  child  with  much  physical  energy  and  can  be  worked  with 
by  giving  him  responsibility  wisely,  by  supplying  an  outlet  for  energy, 
through  physical  exercise,  and  by  other  means. 

Is  corporal  punishment  advisable?  Is  it  used  in  local  homes?  Is  it 
used  in  school?  Can  it  be  done  away  with?  Discuss  possible  means. 
Do  teacher's  and  parent's  attitude  toward  a  child  suspected  of  being  in 
need  of  whipping  ever  make  it  harder  for  him  to  be'good? 


66         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


3.     Truancy  and  Lying 

How  jnany  cases  of  truancy  have  there  been  in  the  school  during  the 
past  year?  Discuss  this  topic  in  the  light  of  these  instances,  noting  if 
any  special  causes  are  at  work. 

Truancy  may  be  inspired  by  any  of  several  causes:  a  distaste  for 
school  leads  some  children  to  run  away.  This  distaste  may  be  purely 
individual  and  it  may  be  caused  by  the  fact  that  the  school  does  not 
appeal  to  children  as  it  should.  Many  schools  for  example  find  indus- 
trial work  a  cure  for  truancy.  Truancy  may  be  caused  by  the  restless 
energy  of  a  child  which  will  not  permit  his  being  quiet  in  school.  Will 
botanical  excursions,  geographical  trips  to  nearby  factories  and  other 
points  of  interest,  playground  apparatus  and  use  help  in  this?  Truancy 
may  also  be  caused  by  lack  of  respect  for  school  on  the  part  of  the  home 
in  which  case  the  remedy  lies  within  the  home  circle.  Finally  the  cause 
may  be  laxness  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  or  truancy  official  which  should 
be  corrected.  Other  possible  causes  for  truancy  may  be  brought  out  and 
discussed. 

A  common  trouble  with  young  children  and  children  even  in  the  adoles- 
cent period  is  that  they  seem  unable  to  distinguish  between  truth  and 
falsehood.  How  much  of  a  real  menace  is  this  to  their  later  development? 
Let  the  members  of  the  committee  glance  back  to  find  how  frequently 
lies  were  told  by  them  in  their  childish  days.  Do  adults  find  it  difficult 
to  tell  the  truth?  Do  adults  lie  to  children,  or  in  their  presence?  How 
many  children's  lies  arise  through  fear,  through  the  child's  imagination 
and  how  many  are  of  the  kind  which  are  properly  designated  as  lies, 
that  is,  malicious  perversions  of  truth? 

Is  this  the  proper  remedy  for  this  kind  of  lying  in  children,  punishment 
which  may  drive  them  into  lying  more  and  more  to  avoid  punishment? 
Is  the  remedy  to  be  found  in  ignoring  this  condition  on  the  part  of  children? 
Most  thinking  people  will  answer  "no"  to  both  questions  and  decide  that 
the  remedies  lie  in  a  strict  example  of  uprightness,  and  proper  instruction 
on  the  part  of  elders.  An  explanation  of  why  lying  is  not  a  good  thing 
in  our  present  society  and  a  giving  of  the  responsibility  to  the  child  may 
help  in  many  cases  and  will  do  a  great  deal  to  eliminate  deception  in  a 
natural  way.  It  is  very  often  found  that  children  who  lie  at  home  or  in 
school  will  not  lie  to  other  children  or  cheat  in  the  playing  of  games. 
Discuss  the  cause  for  this  and  how  the  school  and  _home  may  make  the 
standard  of  honor  in  the  child  high. 


4.      Military  Training* 

Discuss  the  possibilities  of  some  military  training  for  boys  in  the  grades 
and  in  the  high  school.  What  are  the  advantages  of  this  sort  of  work 
over  ordinary  physical  training?  (develops  obedience,  cooperation, 
patriotism,  etc.)  What  are  its^  disadvantages?  (Develops  militarism, 
blind  obedience,  leaves  girls  idle,  etc.)  Discuss  the  value  of  patriotism 


*Write  the  American  Union  Against  Militarism,  Munsey  Building,  Washington, 
D.  C...  for  pamphlets  and  a  poster  exhibit  on  this  subject. 


DISCIPLINE  AND  MORAL  INSTRUCTION  (>7 

as  compared  with  the  value  of  internationalism,  or  the  spirit  of  humanity. 
Is  military  training  advisable  for  boys  as  opposed  to  a  vigorous  system  of 
phys;cal  training  and  gymnasium? 

5.  School  Discipline 

Decide  what  constitutes  good  school  discipline.  Let  teachers  give 
their  ideas  on  this  subject.  Discuss  the  discipline  of  immobility  in  which 
the  ideal  is  to  have  as  little  moving  on  the  part  of  the  children  as  possible, 
the  discipline  of  carelessness  in  which  children  are  allowed  to  do  as  they 
please,  the  discipline  of  respect  in  which  liking  and  respect  for  the  teacher 
make  children  behave  naturally  and  well,  the  discipline  of  interest  in  which 
school  work  is  made  so  vital  to  the  child  that  discipline  does  not  need  to 
be  thought  of,  and  the  discipline  of  moral  guidance  in  which  children  are 
wisely  given  responsibility  for  their  own  conduct.  Get  the  teacher  in 
the  school  whose  discipline  best  exemplifies  the  best  of  these  forms  of 
discipline  to  give  an  account  of  her  methods  in  such  a  way  that  it  will 
present  suggestions  for  mothers  and  other  teachers. 

6.  Self-Government 

For  this  topic  use  the  Self-Government  Bulletins  mentioned  above. 
These  bulletins  will  give  ideas  of  what  self-go vernemnt  means  in  a  school 
and  how  it  has  worked  out  in  several  places.  Do  you  think  the  "objections 
answered"  represent  a  good  answer  to  the  objections  to  this  form  of  school 
organization?  How  much  individual  responsibility  are  children  at  present 
given  in  school?  Some  teachers*  assign  "special  duties"  to  e'ach  child 
such  as  watering  the  fern,  winding  the  clock,  seeing  that  the  cloaks  in 
the  cloak  room  are  hung  correctly,  passing  the  wastebasket,  etc.,  in  which 
children  are  given  responsibility  for  schoolroom  duties.  Other  teachers 
carry  this  responsibility  one  step  farther  and  have  a  pupil  captain,  and  a 
pupil  court  which  is  given  responsibility  for  cases  of  pupil  misconduct 
and  which  administers  a  penalty.  Such  work  as  this  should  be  intro- 
duced very  slowly  into  a  school.  There  is  more  danger  in  responsibility 
conferred  upon  children  and  then  withdrawn  than  in  its  never  being  con- 
ferred. The  plan  must  be  introduced  gradually  and  must  take  into 
consideration  all  possibilities  of  failure. 

7.     Thrift 

One  of  th.e  best  ways  to  get  children  out  of  the  way  of  breaking,  des- 
troying, or  wasting  is  to  interest  them  in  building,  making,  or  saving. 
Too  few  children  .have  any  conception  of  what  money  means  and  the 
effort  necessary  to  earn  it,  or  the  power  which  it  is  capable  of  storing 
when  saved.  When  asked  what  a  penny  is,  or  what  money  is,  children 
in  the  grades  will  often  answer  "something  to  buy  candy  with"  or  "some- 
thing to  go  to  the  movies  with",  showing  that  to  them  money  is  simply 
a  thing  to  be  spent. 

Let  the  teachers  ask  the  pupils  in  each  grade  these  questions:  Have 
you  a  bank  account?  Have  you  a  savings  bank  at  home?  Have  you 


68 


SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


TODAY'S  PENNIES  MAKE 
TOMORROW'S  DOLLARS 


Insert  picture  of 
savings  bank 


A  School  Savings  Bank 

Gives  arithmetic  practice 
Stimulates  earning 
Develops  responsibility 
Teaches  the  value  of  money 

GET  THE  CHILDREN  TO  SAVE 


PLATE   XVI 


DISCIPLINE  AND  MORAL  INSTRUCTION  69 

earned  money  during  the  past  year  and  how?  What  did  you  do  with 
the  money  which  you  earned?  Do  you  keep  an  account  of  the  money 
you  spend?  (Other  questions  may  be  included  if  desirable).  It  will  be 
found  that  school  children  almost  universally  neglect  the  saving  of  money 
and,  in  many  cases,  the  earning  of  it.  Student  earnings  will  be  discussed 
in  section  12 — Industrial  Work.  Student  saving  may  be  considered 
here  as  contributing  to  the  character  building  of  the  child. 

How  can  children  be  induced  to  save?  Ask  the  local  banker  to  speak 
on  this  subject.  Write  Supervising  Principal,  New  Richmond,  Wis- 
consin, for  information  as  to  the  school  savings  bank  established  there. 
(See  plate  XVI).  The  school  savings  bank  forms  a  center  in  which 
children  may  bring  their  earnings  for  safe-keeping  and  offers  practical  in- 
struction material  in  accounting  and  bookkeeping  which  will  stimulate  the 
desire  to  earn  and  save.  What  will  the  local  banks  be  ready  to  do  to 
promote  this  activity? 

Bibliography 

W.  C.  Bagley — School  Discipline 

Self  Government  Pamphlets — Self  Government  Committee,  2  Wall  St., 
New  York  City. 

Habit  Club  Booklets— Goodyear  Marshall  Publishing  Co.,  Cedar 
Rapids,  Iowa. 


SECTION  XII.    INDUSTRIAL  WORK 

The  school  of  today  is  developing  in  the  direction  of  practical,  or 
industrial  work.  In  so  far  as  this  is  an  attempt  to  train  the  brain  through 
the  hand  or  to  train  the  hand  and  brain  simultaneously,  it  is  a  step  forward. 
Where  industrial  work  is  not  correlated  with  other  school  work,  or  where 
academic  work  does  not  include  some  industrial  and  vocational  subjects, 
conditions  are  in  need  of  improvement.  In  order  to  estimate  the  need 
for  or  the  efficiency  of  industrial  work,  it  is  necessary  to  find  out  the  con- 
ditions calling  for  instruction  in  this  field  and  the  effectiveness  of  the 
plans  which  have  been  devised  to  fit  these  conditions. 

1.     Vocational  Survey 

Make  a  map  of  the  school  district  including  any  territory  which  may  be 
outside  the  incorporated  district  but  which  sends  pupils  to  the  local 
school.  Place  a  mark  within  this  territory  for  each  individual  showing 
vocation  or  occupation.  Make  a  cross  for  those  in  agriculture,  a  circle 
for  those  in  store  and  clerical  work,  a  square  for  professional  workers — 
lawyers,  pastors,  etc.  Then  color  the  district  with  light  water  color 
wash  showing  regions, — the  commercial  region,  the  agricultural  region, 
etc.  Make  a  list  of  the  number  of  people  in  each  profession  or  vocation. 
What  is  the  predominating  interest  of  the  district?  What  sort  of  special 
industrial  work  should  be  stressed  in  the  school? 

2.    Establishment  of  Agriculture* 

How  many  pupils  in  the  7th  and  8th  grades  and  in  the  high  school 
come  from  farms?  How  many  8th  grade  or  high  school  graduates  work  on 
farms?  Extend  this  study  to  the  graduates  for  the  past  ten  years  to  see 
what  part  the  farm  plays  in  the  vocational  needs  of  the  local  school  grad- 
uates. 

Make  a  list  of  boys  not  attending  school  who  are  below  20  years  of  age. 
How  many  of  these  are  working  on  farms?  How  many  would  attend  an 
agricultural  course  were  it  given? 

Have  the  teachers  ask  the  boys  in  school  how  many  of  them  would  take 
an  agricultural  course  if  the  school  offered  such  work.  Show  results  graph- 
ically as  iiv  plate  XVII. 

3.    Administration  of  Agriculture 

Care  must  be  taken  after  a  course  in  industrial  education  is  established 
to  see  that  it  is  fitted  to  the  needs  of  the  special  work.  How  much  time  is 
spent  on  the  study  of  agriculture  in  the  separate  grades  and  high  school? 

*To  be  used  in  communities  where  there  is  need  for  an  agricultural  course.  The 
outline  followed  here  for  agriculture  in  connection  "with  industrial  work  of  some 
other  nature  may  be  used  to  work  up  an  argument  for  introducing  courses  in  manual 
training,  domestic  science,  commerce,  etc.  Use  data  secured  from  topic  1. 


INDUSTRIAL  WORK  71 


AGRICULTURE 


Of  243  high  school  boys  having  graduated  from  our  town  schools 
167  are  on  farms 


Of  97  boys  under  20  not  enrolled 
53  are  on  farms 


Of  121  boys  in  school 
64  would  like  work  in  agriculture 


A  course  in  agriculture  would 
Make  better  farmers 
Keep  boys  in  school 
Increase  interest  in  studies 


LET'S  START  AN  AGRICULTURAL  COURSE 


PLATE   XVII 


72         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

In  which  grades  is  it  offered?  Ask  the  fathers  of  all  boys  who  are  taking 
agricultural  work;  (a)  What  should  be  accomplished  in  this  work,  (b)  Of 
what  value  they  think  it  is;  (c)  What  suggestions  they  wish  to  make  for 
alterations  in  or  additions  to  the  course  of  study? 

What  per  cent  of  the  pupils  are  carrying  on  home  or  individual  projects 
in  agriculture?  Is  there  a  variation  in  these  projects  and  do  any  of  them 
mean  a  commercial  profit  for  the  children  engaged  in  them? 

If  an  agricultural  department  is  in  operation,  continuous  services  of  a 
special  teacher  is  very  necessary  for  a  period  of  at  least  three  years.  Is 
the  contract  made  for  more  than  one  year  with  this  teacher?  Many  schools 
make  a  three  year  contract  with  the  proviso  that  the  agricultural  teacher 
may  be  discharged  at  the  end  of  any  year  if  reasonable  cause  is  found. 
The  agricultural  teacher  should  be  hired  for  11  months.  Is  this  the  case 
with  the  local  teacher?  If  so,  what  account  does  he  render  of  work  done 
in  the  summer?  Each  boy  in  the  course  should  be  carrying  on  project 
work  and  the  teacher  should  visit  each  one  several  times  during  the 
summer  spending  a  day  or  two  on  each  visit.  Is  a  school  plot  operated? 
This  should  not  be  attempted  without  provision  for  summer  supervision. 

Does  the  local  school  have  contest  clubs  for  the  stimulation  of  agricul- 
tural activities?  Can  the  parent-teacher  association  start  a  county  con- 
test offering  a  small  prize?  Does  the  school  take  part  in  county  contests? 
Has  a  school  fair  or  exhibit  been  held?  Such  a  harvest  festival  is  valuable 
to  show  the  more  spectacular  results  of  the  year's  work  in  agriculture  and 
to  bring  citizens  into  touch  with  this  branch  of  the  school  work.  Discuss 
plans  and  advantages  of  such  a  festival  and  offer  cooperation  to  principal 
and  teacher  in  planning  and  executing  one. 

Would  there  be  a  demand  for  a  year  course  or  a  winter  term  course  in 
your  school?  The  state  law  authorizes  a  number  of  each.  There  are  about 
11  altogether  being  held  in  the  state  at  this  time.  Look  up  provisions  for 
these  courses  in  the  School  Code. 

Have  any  "Farmers'  Week"  programs  been  arranged  in  your  vicinity? 
These  may  be  organized  under  a  national  law  which  is  administered  in 
Wisconsin  by  the  agricultural  college  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 
These  weeks  are  frequently  arranged  by  principals  or  agricultural  teachers. 

4.    Manual  Training* 


In  what  grades  is  manual  training  offered? 

Number  of  students  taking  manual  training? 

Amount  of  equipment?.. 

Cost  of  equipment?.....-. 

How  furnished? 

What  articles  have  been  made  during  the  year? 

What  repair  work  has  been  done? 

What  home  work  for  school  credit? 

Of  the  articles  made  how  many  are  for  personal  use?. 

For  the  school? 

For  the  home? 

Where,  if  any  where,  is  the  equipment  lacking? 

How  much  time  a  week  is  given  to  the  work? 

From  what  studies  is  this  time  taken?  

Do  children  like  the  work?.... 


*In  case  there  is  need  for  the  establishment  of  courses  in  manual  training,  do- 
mestic science,  commercial  or  other  industrial  lines,  practically  the  same  pro- 
cedure should  be  followed  as  that  outlined  in  topic  2  concerning  the  establishment 
of  agriculture.  This  topic  presupposes  the  presence  of  the  course. 


INDUSTRIAL  WORK  73 

Get  the  teacher  of  manual  training  to  speak  on  this  subject.  For  sug- 
gestions and  information  regarding  manual  training,  address  J.  M.  Dorrans, 
Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Madison,  Wisconsin.  If  there  is  no 
school  credit  for  home  work,  it  may  be  that  this  can  be  introduced  by  the 
club. 

5.    Domestic  Science 

In  discussing  the  universality  of  need  for  industrial  subjects-  which 
will  benefit  boys,  the  fact  is  often  lost  sight  of  that  practically  all  girls 
except  such  as  enter  the  professions  of  teaching,  clerking,  etc.,  will  need 
to  know  the  principles  and  practice  of  domestic  science,  or  home  making. 
This  will  be  true  even  in  the  case  of  a  number  of  girls  who  go  into  occupa- 
tions for  a  few  years  and  then  become  home  makers.  It  is  of  great  import- 
ance to  each  parent  to  be  sure  that  instruction  given  in  domestic  science 
is  full  and  practical.  This  topic  covers  study  in  a  school  where  domestic 
science  has  been  established. 

Get  each  mother  of  a  girl  taking  domestic  science  to  tell  specifically 
what  value  the  study  has  been  to  her  daughter,  what  articles  for  food  or 
apparel  have  been  made  at  home,  how  many  duties  have  been  lightened, 
what  the  daughter  thinks  of  the  study  in  school,  and  what  suggestions  may 
be  offered  for  its  improvement.  Discuss  the  relative  advantages  of  good 
home  training  in  domestic  science  and  good  school  training  in  the  subject, 
asking  the  domestic  science  teacher  to  speak  on  the  results  of  school  train- 
ing. How  can  the  work  in  school  be  made  practical  through  approximating 
school  conditions  to  home  conditions  and  through  cooperating  with  the 
home  to  give  credit  for  home  work?  Practically  the  same  questions  as  for 
manual  training  should  be  answered  in  this  topic. 


6.    Commercial  Work 

Questions  under  topic  4  may  be  adapted  to  this  subject.  How  do  pupils 
gain  their  laboratory  practice  in  shorthand  and  bookkeeping?  Are  posi- 
tions open  to  graduates  of  the  course?  Why  not  report  sermons  and  other 
addresses  for  practice  in  stenography? 

In  accounting  and  bookkeeping,  there  is  a  mass  of  practical  work 
which  school  children  may  do  for  their  training,  such  as  helping  store- 
keepers to  keep  books  for  practice  in  accounting,  keeping  home  accounts, 
keeping  accounts  of  the  school,  typing  reports,  etc.  Make  suggestions 
to  the  teacher  where  there  is  a  possibility  of  improvement. 


7.    Vocational  Guidance 

The  consideration  of  vocational  guidance  has  been  general  only  within 
the  past  few  years.  Collect  a  group  of  representative  opinions  from  busi- 
ness men  and  women  in  the  community  on  "Why  I  Chose  the  Occupation 
in  Which  I  am  at  Present."  Group  the  reasons  as  far  as  possible. 

Get  the  teacher  to  ask  the  school  children  to  write  down  the  names  of 
occupations  which  they  would  like  to  fill  when  they  grow  up.  What  idea 


74         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

do  these  children  have  of  the  occupation  which  they  wish  to  enter?    How 
do  they  intend  to  train  themselves  for  it? 

Discuss  the  reasons  why  it  is  necessary  nowadays  to  have  a  knowledge 
of  the  several  trades.  Does  the  average  boy  get  an  insight  into  a  number 
of  fields,  or  does  he  fall  into  the  first  vocation  which  presents  itself? 
Suggest  to  the  principal  that  one  or  two  representative  citizens  address 
the  children  in  the  upper  grades  or  high  school  on  "My  Profession — Its 
Hardships  and  Rewards."  Let  the  club  be  present  and  notice  how  the 
children  seem  to  appreciate  this  information.  On  the  Township  Library 
List  will  be  found  a  number  of  good  books  suitable  for  grades  or  high  school 
giving  information  about  the  various  occupations.  / 


SECTION  XIII.    RECREATION 


Children  in  and  out  of  school  must  have  a  large  quantity  of  recreation 
in  order  to  keep  well  in  mind  and  body.  With  the  increasing  density  of 
population  and  the  distribution  of  people  into  crowded  spaces,  this  be- 
comes more  and  more  of  a  problem  to  be  solved.  The  city  child  often  has 
inadequate  facilities  to  play,  because  there  is  not  space  and  supervision. 
The  country  child  often  never  learns  to  play  on  account  of  the  lack  of 
playmates  and  direction  for  activities.  The  parent-teacher  association 
can  render  valuable  services  by  surveying  the  local  recreation  facilities 
and  extending  these  where  necessary  or  possible. 

Clubs  working  in  a  small  or  in  a  large  city  will  find  the  report  of  the 
Madison  Recreational  Survey  (price  50c)  Madison  Board  of  Commerce, 
Madison,  Wisconsin,  most  valuable  as  a  basis  for  the  recreational  work. 
Other  clubs  will  wish  to  use  the  free  bulletin  on  playground  apparatus, 
Fresno  State  Normal  School,  Fresno,  California,  etc.,  (see. list  of  bulletins, 
introduction). 

1.    Supervision  of  District  Facilities 

Make  a  complete  study  of  the  facilities  for  play  in  local  town  or  city. 
If  in  a  city,  study  the  density  of  the  population  per  block  to  show  the  con- 
gestion by  wards.  Are  house  lots  and  open  spaces  of  good  size?  What  or- 
ganizations promote  recreation  and  how  far  do  children  share  in  the  activi- 
ties of  these? 

List  number  of  parks,  playgrounds,  swimming  pools,  gymnasiums, 
libraries,  moving  picture  shows,  dance  halls,  etc.,  which  may  be  used  as 
recreational  units  for  children.  A  few  of  these  will  be  taken  up  one  by  one  in 
the  topics  to  come.  If  others  are  of  sufficient  importance  they  should  be 
studied  in  somewhat  the  same  mgnner.  At  the  end  of  this  study  the  ques- 
tion should  be — "How  may  we  add  to  our  facilities  for  child  recreation? 
How  may  we  control  and  if  necessary  eliminate  harmful  agencies.'" 

2.    Playground  and  Equipment 

How  large  is  the  school  playground  (see  section  4 — -"Physical  Condi- 
tions.") How  much  playground  apparatus  is  there? 

During'  recess  at  several  different  periods  observe  the  children.  How 
many  of  them  are  playing  at  all?  What  games  are  played  and  how  much 
is  playground  apparatus  used?  Do  they  play  in  the  school  yard  or  outside? 
How  many  children  stay  indoors  during  the  recess  period?  What  part 
does  the  teacher  take  in  organizing  and  directing  play?  Does  the  teacher 
ever  play  with  the  children? 


76         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

Observe  or  get  the  teacher's  report  on  the  child's  recess  activities  on  a 
stormy  day.  What  do  the  children  do?  How  many  games  are  played  and 
of  what  nature?  Do  all  the  children  take  part?  In  order  that  a  school 
may  not  become  listless  and  inattentive,  it  is  essential  that  much  attention 
should  be  paid  to  regular  periods  of  physical  exercise  and  game  playing. 

When  children  are  allowed  to  sit  idle  in  their  seats  during  recess  on 
account  of  the  rain  outside,  instead  of  playing  indoor  games,  singing,  or 
exercising  in  other  ways,  it  is  a  direct  detriment  to  the  work  of  the  rest 
of  the  school  day.  The  teacher  will  find  also  that  selection  of  songs  or 
exercises  of  the  children  on  different  occasions  will  do  much  to  tone  up 
to  work  or  down  to  a  business-like  attitude  when  this  is  needed. 

The  activities  of  the  club  as  to  recreation  may  be  divided  into  three 
groups. 

a.  The  club  may  provide  playground  apparatus  or  may  encourage  the 
building  of  such  apparatus  by  the  club  or  public  minded  parents  in  the 
community.  (See  Fresno  bulletin).  It  is  most  important  that  children  should 
have  swings,  teeters,  giant  strides,  climbing  ladders,  volley  ball  courts, 
parallel  bars,  etc.,  on  which  to  exercise  and  develop  the  physical  activities. 

b.  The  organization  may  also  provide  recreational  facilities  for  indoor 
use  on  stormy  days.    This  will  include  balls  and  other  game  materials  as 
well  as  the  purchase  of  a  manual  on  indoor  games  which  may  be  used  by 
the  teacher  in  directing  the  play.  Write  the  Anti-Tuberculosis  Association 
at  Milwaukee  for  a  copy  of  their  bulletin  on  school  games. 

c.  The  club  may  encourage  the  school  to  appoint  one  of  the  teachers 
director  of  play  with  duties  lightened  elsewhere  if  possible  to  give  her  time 
for  this  work,  or  may  agitate  the  providing  of  a  recreational  supervisor 
for  the  school.    Such  a  recreational  supervisor  would  teach  physical  cul- 
ture, supervise  playground  and  recess  period-,  organize  "hikes,"  organize 
and  direct  boy  scouts  and  camp  fire  girls'  clubs.    It  is  sometimes  found 
advisable  to  engage  such  a  person  at  club  expense  for  a  short  period  to 
demonstrate  the  need  and  possibilities  of  such  a  person  to  be  employed 
permanently  by  the  school  board. 


3.    Parks,  Vacant  Lots,  Alleys,  Etc. 

Go  about  on  an  afternoon  after  school  is  out  or  on  Saturday  and  dis- 
cover where  it  is  that  children  play.  How  many  of  them  use  the  local  parks? 
How  many  use  vacant  lots?  What  alleys  are  used  and  in  what  cases  do 
children  play  in  the  streets?  How  can  the  street  be  eliminated  as  a  play- 
ground? WThat  can  be  done  to  the  park  to  make  it  more  attractive  as  a 
recreational  center?  May  playgrounds  be  established  in  vacant  lots  where 
children  can  go  to  play? 

Do  enough  children  play  out-of-doors?  How  many  go  into  the  country 
fishing,  hunting,  etc.?  What  do  the  girls  do  for  recreation/  It  must  be 
remembered  that  girls  need  active  outdoor  sports  just  as  much  as  boys  and 
that  too  often  girls  will  be  found  sewing,  reading,  dressing  dolls  or  talking 
when  their  physical  and  mental  development  requires  that  they  be  climb- 
ing fences,  playing  tag  or  otherwise  using  their  developing  muscles. 


RECREATION  77 


4.    The  Movies 

In  attending  the  local  movies  find  out  how  many  children  are  in  attend- 
ance and  how  great  a  proportion  of  the  audience  is  children.  With  these 
facts  in  mind  what  can  be  done  to  make  the  movies  a  source  of  helpful  enjoy- 
ment to  children?  Many  cities  have  out-door  movies  in  the  summer  time 
where  the  evils  of  bad  ventilation  are  to  a  great  extent  overcome.  Many 
schools  have  a  moving  picture  machine,  often  used  too  seldom,  which  shows 
clean  and  educational  films  to  children.  Some  cities  exercise  censorship  on 
the  movies  shown.  Often  agreements  may  be  made  with  the  proprietors 
to  procure  films  of  literary  or  educational  value  or  to  eliminate  objection- 
able films.  The  city  council  may  be  of  help  in  this  direction.  Children  who 
go  to  the  movies  too  frequently  are  likely  to  injure  their  eyes,  not  to 
mention  other  evil  effects. 

5.    Other  Forms  of  Commercial  Amusement 

Many  communities  will  be  found  to  make  organized  efforts  to  provide 
helpful  amusements  for  their  young  people.  One  Wisconsin  city  owns  a 
roller  skating  rink  where  for  a  nominal  admission  charge  sufficient  to 
cover  the  cost  of  up-keep,  children  may  gain  helpful  exercise.  Another  Wis- 
consin city  owns  a  municipal  auditorium  in  which  entertainments  may  be 
given  by  the  young  people.  Is  anything  of  this  sort  done  in  your  locality? 

How  many  children  of  school  age  attend  local  public  dances?  How  many 
local  private  dances  are  held  to  which  children  are  invited?  Many  villages 
and  cities  have  decided  that  dancing  is  not  itself  a  detrimental  activity, 
and  have  organized  school  dances  at  which  teachers  are  present  as  chaper- 
ones  in  order  to  provide  young  people  with  this  popular  amusement  in  a 
regulated  form.  This  is,  of  course,  more  of  a  problem  with  the  high  school 
than  with  the  grades. 

What  good  recreational  activities  may  be  substituted  for  the  evil  or 
negative  ones  so  that  their  appeal  to  boys  will  be  effective?  The  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
the  gymnasium,  the  boy  scouts,  the  swimming  pool,  all  help  materially 
in  reducing  the  appeal  of  commercialized  recreational  agencies. 

6.    Recreational  Clubs 

Use  a  copy  of  the  Boy  Scout  Handbook  which  should  be  in  the  local 
library  or  should  be  purchased  for  50c  from  Grosset  &  Dunlap,  New  York 
City.  Also  write  Camp  Fire  Girls'  Association  for  material  along  this  line. 
Discuss  the  dangers  and  possibilities  of  the  boys'  gang.  What  have  gangs 
done  for  good  or  for  evil  in  the  locality?  How  does  the  boy  scout  move- 
ment turn  this  spirit  of  the  boys  into  a  force  for  good?  Discuss  the  ideals 
and  aims  of  the  Camp  Fire  Girls.  Can  such  an  organization  be  formed  in 
the  locality  under  the  leadership  of  the  teacher  or  principal  or  better  of 
some  athletic,  sympathetic  and  public-minded  adult  in  the  community? 
The  young  men  and  women  not  engaged  in  professional  work  are  well 
adapted  to  direct  these  activities. 


SECTION  XIV.    THE  HIGH  SCHOOL* 


If  the  parent-teacher  association  using  this  bulletin  has  for  its  special 
field  of  study  the  high  school,  it  will  be  found  that  much  of  the  work  in 
previous  sections  may  be  related  to  this  problem,  e.  g.  sections  on  physical 
conditions,  the  school  teacher,  industrial  work,  etc.  The  topics  under  this 
section  are  intended  to  cover  studies  which  would  not  to  any  extent  enter 
into  work  with  graded  schools. 

1.     Elimination 

Much  is  being  written  of  recent  years  concerning  the  small  number  of 
children  who  go  through  the  public  school  system  from  the  1st  grade 
through  high  school.  Out  of  100  children  entering  the  first  grade  it 
is  computed  that  a  very  small  per  cent  finish  a  high  school  course.  That 
this  percentage  should  be  raised  is  one  of  the  theses  of  modern  educational 
development. 

Followr  back  the  records  of  the  senior  graduating  class  in  the  high  school 
to  the  first  grade  out  of  which  this  class  was  recruited. 

How  many  and  what  per  cent  of  the  first  grade  twelve  years  ago  are 
to  be  found  in  the  high  school  graduating  class?  Of  the  others,  how  many 
(a)  are  still  in  local  schools  (b)  have  graduated  from  the  local  schools  (c) 
are  still  in  school  somewhere  (d)  have  left  school  and  are  doing  nothing 
(e)  have  gone  to  work  (f )  are  dead  or  lost  track  of?  Graph  these  facts  by 
the  bar  or  circle  method.  (See  appendix  and  show  graphically  in  a  chart). 

What  proportion  of  the  children  entering  primary  grades  finish  high 
school?  Of  the  graduating  class  in  the  high  school,  how  many  have  com- 
pleted school  in  twelve  years?  How  many  have  taken  more  than  this  time 
and  how  many  less?  For  the  past  year  and,  if  possible,  for  several  years 
back,  find  how  many  of  the  pupils  graduating  from  the  local  eighth  grade 
have  entered  the  high  school.  What  proportion  of  all  eighth  grade  grad- 
uates go  on  to  high  schools  as  shown  by  local  conditions?  Is  this  the  place 
where  the  break  comes  and  the  greatest  proportion  drop  out?  If  not,  at 
what  point  in  the  grades  is  this  the  case?  Out  of  each  100  children  enrolled 
in  the  first  grade,  what  proportion  will  be  found  in  the  high  school?  (See 
plate  XVIII). 

Discuss  possible  means  of  keeping  more  children  in  school  through  the 
grades  from  the  first  to  the  twelfth.  The  overage  problem  is  vitally  con- 
nected with  this  one  of  elimination,  as  over  age  pupils  tend  to  become 
discouraged  and  drop  out.  Get  the  high  school  principal  to  talk  on  what 
can  be  done  to  keep  100  per  cent  of  the  children  in  school. 

2.    Resident  and  Nonresident  Pupils 

As  a  result  of  the  law  compelling  local  districts  not  maintaining  high 
schools  to  pay  tuition  for  such  students  as  wish  to  attend  high  schools 

*Throughout  this  topic,  use  the  files  of  annual  reports  from  local  high  school 
principals  to  the  State  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  available  in  high  school 
office. 


THE  HIGH  SCHOOL 


79 


47  out  of 
each  100 

finish  8th 
grade 


10-XII 


12-XI 


15— X 


22-IX 


47  children— Grade  VIII 


51  children-Grade  VII 


56  children— Grade  VI 


63  children-Grade  V 


65  children— Grade  IV 


63  children-Grade  III 


71  children— Grade  II 


10'J  children— Grade  I 


10  out  of 

each  100 

finish    high 

school 


WE  DON'T  KEEP  CHILDREN  IN  SCHOOL.      CAN  WE? 


PLATE   XVIII 


80         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

elsewhere,  there  are  a  great  number  of  nonresident  students  in  the  high 
schools  of  Wisconsin.  Such  children  should  be  encouraged  to  go  to  school 
and  the  district  in  which  they  attend  should  try  to  promote  their  welfare. 

On  a  county  map  locate  the  nearby  high  schools  and  in  general  the 
district  from  which  the  local  high  school  might  draw  its  students.  How 
many  schools  in  this  district?  How  many  graduates  from  eighth  grade  in 
all  of  these  schools  at  the  last  graduation?  How  many  of  these  graduates 
are  to  be  found  in  the  local  high  school  or  in  any  high  school? 

Does  this  study  show  that  children  attending  schools  where  there  is  no 
high  school  keep  on  in  school  as  do  children  in  localities  where  there  are 
high  school  facilities?  If  possible  find  out  from  one  or  two  rural  or  state 
graded  schools  in  the  district  why  children  have  not  continued  school  after 
graduating  from  the  eighth  grade.  Do  they  know  the  advantages  of  high 
school  work?  Gould  any  one  present  these  to  them? 

What  is  done  in  the  locality  for  nonresident  pupils?  Are  they  helped  to 
get  good  living  places?  Do  the  churches  do  something  for  them?  Is  any 
recreation  provided  for?  Can  the  club  help  in  securing  work  for  such  as 
need  it?  It  is  a  fact  that  the  presence  of  nonresident  pupils  helps  a  town 
commercially — because  of  the  increased  business  resulting  and  education- 
ally because  of  the  better  conditions  possible  with  a  larger  enrollment. 
Can  the  club  encourage  nonresident  enrollment? 

It  is  sometimes  the  case  that  nonresident  pupils  are  not  sufficiently 
looked  after  to  keep  them  out  of  mischief  and  that  supervision  by  local 
school  authorities  is  needed.  If  this  is  the  case  in  your  locality,  discuss 
remedies  with  the  principal. 


3.    The  Town  and  Union  High  Schools 

The  town  high  school  has  a  territory  covering  a  full  town  about  36 
square  miles.  The  union  high  school  is  formed  by  the  union  of  sections  of 
territory  for  high  school  purposes.  It  must  include  at  least  36  square  miles 
but  may  be  of  any  convenient  shape  and  may  include  more  than  this 
amount  of  territory.  State  aid  is  granted  to  both  town  and  union  high 
schools.  (See  School  Code.) 

Discuss  the  advantages  or  possible  disadvantages  of  a  union  high 
school.  If  it  is  found  that  this  organization  would  be  advisable,  public 
meetings  may  be  held  and  citizens  of  neighboring  districts  may  organize 
a  union  district  according  to  legal  steps  for  the  erection  and  maintenance 
of  a  union  high  school.  The  advantage  of  such  a  school  to  citizens  outside 
the  district  is  that  no  tuition  need  then  be  paid  to  a  district  maintaining  a 
high  school  for  students  who  may  attend.  The  disadvantage,  of  course, 
would  be  that  the  districts  would  participate  in  all  high  school  expenses. 


4.    The  Six- Six  Plan 

Many  schools  find  that  the  twelve  grades  may  better  be  organized  with 
a  division  between  the  6th  and  7th  grades  so  that  the  7th,  8th,  and  '9th 
grades  are  organized  together  as  an  intermediate  school,  or  a  junior  high 
school,  and  the  10th,  llth,  and  12th  as  the  senior  high  school.  A  bulletin 


THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  81 

published  in  1916  by  the  Minnesota  State  Department  of  Education,  St. 
Paul,  Minn.,  gives  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  this  system,  as  well 
as  information  concerning  it. 

Some  of  the  advantages  are— better  formed  course  of  study,  encourage- 
ment of  initiative  on  the  part  of  pupils,  encourages  more  secondary  and 
high  school  education,  permits  departmental  teaching,  enables  children 
to  come  in  contact  with  more  male  teachers,  holds  pupil  in  school  longer. 

The  disadvantages  are — increased  cost  and  energy  necessary,  lack  of 
specially  trained  teachers,  throws  out  grammar  school  subjects,  may 
be  a  change  in  name  only. 


5.    Dropped,  Failed,  and  Promoted 

Secure  a  copy  of  the  latest  report  made  by  the  high  school  principal 
to  the  state  departmet  of  public  instruction.  In  this  you  will  find  a 
record  of  the  enrollment  in  each  study  given  in  the  high  school,  the 
number  of  pupils  enrolled,  those  dropped,  failed  and  promoted. 

By  computing  percentages,  find  out  what  subject  fails  the  most  pupils 
proportionately  and  in  which  subject  most  pupils  are  found  to  drop.  If 
possible  make  this  study  for  several  years  using  former  reports.  It  will 
probably  be  found  that  the  freshman  subjects,  algebra,  history,  English, 
etc.,  fail  the  most  pupils,  with  geometry  a  subject  in  which  many  also 
fail.  In  connection  with  this  compute  the  proportion  of  students  who 
fail  each  year  and  take  the  same  percentage  of  the  instructional  expenses 
(total)  for  the  high  school  to  find  how  much  it  costs  the  local  district  to 
have  high  school  pupils  fail.  Make  a  chart  giving  this  information  (See 
plate  XXII  Appendix  on  Method) 

Do  boys  or  girls  fail  to  a  larger  extent?  If  you  are  interested  get  like 
data  on  other  nearby  high  schools  to  see  which  high  school  makes  the 
better  showing  as  to  the  number  of  children  passed. 

6.    The  High  School  Alumni 

Using  the  high  school  enrollment  for  the  last  four  years  find  out  the 
number  of  pupils  who  have  been  in  high  school  for  sometime  during  this 
period  but  who  are  no  longer  attending.  Separate  these  into  (a)  graduates  , 
(b)  students  who  have  left  school  without  graduating.    (If  students  have, 
left  to  attend  other  schools  do  not  count  them.) 

Determine  for  each  individual — graduates  and  students  dropped — the 
present  occupation.  In  the  case  of  which  group  is  it  better?  Can  this  be 
made  an  argument  for  high  school  attendance  and  graduation? 

7.    Work  for  High  School  Students 

The^e  are  some  of  the  things  which  high  school  students  have  done  for 
local  communities: 

Testing  food  during  chemistry  class  to  detect  adulteration 
Making  posters  and  signs  for  local  functions  in  art  class 
Running  a  lunch  counter  at  which  citizens  might  buy  food 
Testing  cows,  corn,  etc.,  for  farmers  in  the  community 


82         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

Selling  tested  seed  to  farmers 

Keeping  home  or  store  account  ledgers  for  bookkeeping  practice 
Writing  up  a  column  of  school  notes  in  the  local  newspapers 
Making  articles  in  manual  training  or  industrial  work  for  home,  school 
or  commercial  trade. 

How  many,  if  any,  of  these  activities  are  now  carried  on  in  connection 
with  the  local  high  school?  How  many  community  services  not  listed 
here  are  being  done?  Ask  each  teacher  to  report  informally  as  to  how  the 
instruction  in  her  class  is  made  a  direct  service  to  the  community.  Ask 
also  what  services  not  now  rendered  the  teacher  would  like  to  incorporate 
into  the  course  of  study.  Which  of  these  are  feasible? 


8.    School  Athletics  and  Contests 

Make  a  complete  list  of  all  forms  of  school  athletics  carried  on  in  the 
local  school  and  the  number  and  names  of  pupils  engaged  in  each.  How 
many  children  in  the  high  school  do  not  participate  in  any  form  of  ath- 
letics? What  proportion?  What  athletics  are  carried  on  for  the  girls  and 
what  proportion  of  the  girls  participate  in  these? 

Discuss  the  value  of  athletics  for  the  girl  as  well  as  for  the  boy.  Get  the 
teacher  most  interested  on  this  subject  to  speak  on  it. 

Have  athletics  for  boys  been  carried  so  far  as  to  hurt  school  work,  or 
injure  the  boys?  What  cases,  if  any,  of  accidents  or  disablements  have 
occurred  on  account  of  school  athletics?  Keep  in  mind  the  necessity  and 
importance  of  abundant  properly  directed  play.  Discuss  ways  and 
means  to  make  athletics  for  both  boys  and  girls  the  most  complete  and 
efficient  system  possible. 

What  other  sorts  of  contests  (a)  with  other  schools  (b)  in  local  schools 
are  held?  Has  the  school  a  debating  team?  Are  competitions  in  subjects 
ever  held?  Find  from  the  teacher  the  extent  to  which  work  of  this  sort  is 
done. 

9.    Clubs  and  Organizations 

Let  the  teachers  find  from  each  of  the  boys  and  girls  of  what  clubs  or 
associations  they  are  a  member — include  social  clubs,  literary  societies, 
school  committees,  officers  of  class,  athletic  clubs,  boy  scouts,  church 
organizations  and  all  other  such  clubs. 

Compute  the  number  of  pupils  who  are  in  no  club,  one  club,  two  clubs, 
etc.,  and  of  the  highest  number  of  organizations  of  which  any  one  pupil 
is  a  member.  Is  there  a  great  discrepancy,  that  is,  do  a  few  pupils  belong  to 
a  great  number  of  clubs  .while  many  are  entirely  omitted?  (Names  need  not 
be  taken  on  the  lists  of  clubs  handed  in  if  desired).  Make  a  list  also  of  the 
total  number  of  possible  organizations  or  clubs  to  which  pupils  may  belong 
from  the  lists  handed  in.  When  do  these  organizations  hold  meetings? 
How  often  do  they  come?  What  meetings  come  on  school  nights  or  on 
afternoons  after  school?  Is  this  a  good  thing  in  the  case  of  (a)  outdoor 
clubs  (b)  literary  and  study  clubs  (c)  social  organizations? 

Do  school  clubs  seem  to  serve  a  useful  and  constructive  purpose?  (Bear 
*n  mind  that  amusement  is  a  necessary  activity  of  a  boy  or  girl  of  high 


THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  83 

school  age  if  the  sort  of  amusement  indulged  in  is  not  harmful.)  If  there 
is  unevenness  in  the  number  belonging  to  clubs,  that  is,  if  a  number  of 
students  are  entirely  left  out,  what  can  be  done  to  provide  organization 
life  for  these  pupils?  Are  there  any  clubs  whose  activities  are  positively 
harmful  and  which  should  be  eliminated? 

10.    High  School  Boys  and  Girls 

Do  any  of  the  high  school  boys  hang  around  street  corners,  railroad 
station,  pool  rooms,  or  other  cheap  amusement  places  in  the  community? 
Do  any  engage  in  the  smoking  of  cigarettes?  Are  there  any  troublesome 
"gangs"?  If  these  things  are  found,  it  will  be  well  to  consult  with  the 
high  school  principal  and  teachers  so  that  they  may  be  eliminated  and 
healthful  lines  of  activity  be  substituted  for  high  school  boys. 

What  should  be  the  dress  of  the  average  high  school  girl?  Are  there  any 
who  overdress?  What  can  be  done  to  prevent  this  by  mothers  or 
or  by  the  school?  A  few  high  schools  have  adopted  high  school  uniform  of 
some  simple  kind.  Would  this  help  the  high  school  girls  to  dress  sensibly 
and  sanely? 

Discuss  the  health  and  recreation  of  the  high  school  girl.  How  may  she 
be  induced  to  take  sufficient  healthful  outdoor  exercise  so  that  her  school 
duties  will  not  injure  her  health?  Do  girls  frequent  the  railroad  station  at 
train  time?  Is  amusement  indulged  in  by  any  to  an  extreme  extent?  If 
so,  it  will  be  well  to  consult  with  high  school  authorities  as  to  the  means 
of  eliminating  this. 


SECTION    XV.       HIGHER    EDUCATIONAL    ORGAN- 
IZATIONS 


This  section  is  not  so  much  a  study  to  better  local  conditions  as  a  study 
in  the  opportunities  offered  by  higher  educational  organizations  in  Wis- 
consin and  throughout  the  country.  The  club  which  knows  where  it  can 
get  help  has  a  multitude  of  sources  of  assistance  to  which  to  turn  and  the 
main  purpose,  of  this  chapter  is  to  suggest  a  few  of  them. 

1.    Our  Contribution  to  Higher  Education 

Look  over  the  list  of  high  school  graduates  for  the  past  ten  years  and 
determine  how  many  (and  what  per  cent)  have  attended  higher  institu- 
tions of  learning.  How  many  have  gone  into  teaching;  how  many  into  law; 
medicine;  into  each  of  other  vocations  and  how  many  have  returned  to 
the  community? 

How  many  college  graduates  are  there  in  the  community?  (Estimate  if 
necessary).  Get  one  or  two  of  these  people  to  talk  to  the  club  on  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  college  education  and  the  things  which  college  or  university 
meant  to  the  individual.  Secure  a  catalog  of  the  universities  and  colleges 
nearest  by  and  look  them  over  to  see  what  possibilities  are  to  be  found  in 
the  university  which  are  not  already  obvious  to  the  club. 

Get  one  of  the  recent  graduates,  preferably  one  who  has  himself  worked 
his  way  through  college,  to  talk  to  the  high  school  on  methods  by  which 
a  boy  or  girl  may  earn  his  or  her  college  education.  Look  through  the  uni- 
versity and  college  catalogs  to  find  what  scholarships  are  offered.  Write 
the  Employment  Committee,  University  of  Wisconsin,  Madison,  Wiscon- 
sin, for  information  as  its  field  of  activity  and  possible  service  to  local 
students  who  would  otherwise  not  be  able  to  meet  the  expenses  of  a  college 
course.  Ask  students  in  the  graduating  class  what  vocation  they  would 
like  to  pursue  and  look  up  for  them  the  college  or  university  which  will 
give  them  best  training  along  this  line.  (Write  Legislative  Reference 
Library,  Madison,  Wisconsin,  or  School  Service,  Department  of  Public 
Instruction,  Madison,  Wisconsin.) 

2.    Department  of  Public  Instruction 

The  Wisconsin  State  Department  of  Public  Instruction  offers  help  to 
local  organizations  in  a  large  number  of  ways.  A  number  of  bulletins 
along  educational  lines  have  been  issued  during  the  past  few  years  and 
these  will  be  found  of  value  to  school  officers  and  other  citizens.  See 
introduction  for  a  list  of  bulletins  which  are  available. 

The  Educational  News  Bulletin  is  issued  monthly,  except  in  July  and 
August,  to  give  the  educational  news  of  the  state  and  "to  make  the  best 
in  one  school  contagious  to  all." 


HIGHER  EDUCATIONAL  ORGANIZATIONS  85 

Supervisors  are  constantly  traveling  over  the  state  to  visit  schools  and 
make  suggestions  for  their  improvement.  Such  supervisors  may  be  se- 
cured for  talks  and  suggestions  in  a  given  locality  if  adequate  notice  is 
given  and  if  conditions  make  it  possible. 

The  school  service  in  the  department  of  public  instruction  is  an  organ- 
ized center  of  information  to  give  help  through  correspondence  to  teachers 
in  service  throughout  the  state  and  also  to  any  citizen  wishing  information 
or  suggestions  along  educational  lines.  Write  School  Service,  Department 
of  Public  Instruction,  Madison,  Wisconsin. 


3.    The  Extension  Division 

Use  the  extension  division  section  of  the  general  university  catalog  or 
write  the  Extension  Division,  Madison,  for  copies  of  their  bulletins  of 
information  as  to  service  to  be  rendered  by  this  organization.  A  few  of 
the  many  services  possible  are  listed  here. 

(a)  bulletins  are  issued  giving  valuable  information  along  many  lines. 
A  list  of  these  may  be  procured  by  writing 

(b)  the  hygienic  laboratory  tests  water  and  other  substances  so  as  to 
show  communities  whether  their  living  conditions  are  healthful  or  not. 
This  is  only  one  of  the  activities  of  the  hygienic  laboratory 

(c)  the  bureau  of  visual  instruction  sends  out  moving  picture  films  and 
stereopticon  slides  on  all  of  a  great  variety  of  educational  and  informational 
subjects 

(d)  the  extension  division  furnishes  speakers  for  programs  in  any  part 
of  the  state 

(e)  the  package   library  of  the  extension  division  sends  out  packages 
of  material  on  a  great  number  of  recent  questions  including  clippings, 
magazine  articles,  bulletins,  pamphlets,  and  other  valuable  material  for 
debates,  speeches,  etc. 

(f )  the  agricultural  extension  division  aids  farmers  by  carrying  on  experi- 
ments to  determine  the  seed  best  adapted  to  Wisconsin  soils;  by  giving 
advice  and  information  along  agricultural  subjects  and  in  a  great  number 
of  other  ways 

(g)  all  these  services  rendered  by  the  extension  division  are  free  except 
for  paying  the  charges  on  material  sent,  etc. 


4.    Free  Library  Commission 

The  Wisconsin  Free  Library  Commission  (Madison)  is  equipped  to 
send  books  to  any  individual  or  organization  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin 
charging  only  the  postage  required  to  transport  the  books.  Free  traveling 
libraries  are  made  up  in  sets  of  fifty  books  along  definite  lines  such  as 
agriculture,  travel,  fiction,  etc.,  which  may  be  procured  for  a  given  length 
of  time.  Any  individual  wishing  a  book  on  a  certain  subject  may  procure 
such  a  book  through  the  Free  Library  Commission  if  it  is  not  a  subject 
which  is  not  available.  Write  the  Free  Library  Commission  for  a  full 
statement  of  the  services  it  is  prepared  to  render. 


86         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


5.     State  Normal  Schools  and  County  Superintendent 

The  normal  schools  are  developing  more  and  more  a  service  to  the  terri- 
tory in  which  they  are  situated.  Faculty  members  take  charge  of  meetings 
and  institutes  upon  request,  give  suggestions  upon  educational  topics, 
supervise  schools  where  supervision  is  requested  and  are  seeking  in  every 
way  to  render  any  educational  service  possible. 

County  superintendents  issue  bulletins  and  periodicals  of  information 
for  schools,  organize  school  contests,  are  always  willing  to  speak  at  meetings 
if  possible  and  will  be  ready  to  give  educational  help  when  called  upon. 
Write  the  superintendent  of  your  county  for  a  statement  as  to  possible 
services  of  his  office  to  your  club.  The  supervising  teacher  is  also  a  source 
of  help. 

6.  The  National  Bureau 

The  National  Bureau  of  Education,  Washington,  D.  C.,  is  perhaps  the 
most  fruitful  source  of  printed  bulletin  helps  in  education.  About  fifty 
bulletins  a  year  are  issued  dealing  with  all  phases  of  modern  education 
in  a  constructive  way.  Write  for  a  copy  of  the  latest  bulletin  issued  and 
you  will  find  on  the  inside  covers  a  list  of  all  bulletins  formerly  issued  which 
are  available.  The  latest  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  available  upon  request,  will  also  give  an  account 
of  other  services  renderd  by  this  department. 

7.  Other  General  Agencies 

These  are  the  days  of  organized  associations  to  further  educational 
progress.  In  almost  every  field  of  modern  educational  thought  there  will 
be  found  a  society  or  association  issuing  pamphlets  and  bulletin  literature 
which  is  formed  for  the  distinct  purpose  of  furthering  the  line  of  activity 
for  which  it  is  organized.  Many  of  these  societies  have  already  been  re- 
ferred to  in  the  course  of  this  outline.  A  partial  list  will  be  given  below. 
If  you  wish  to  find  the  names  of  a  society  working  in  a  field  not  indicated 
here  write  School  Service,  Department  of  Public^Instruction,^Madison, 
Wisconsin. 

Children's  Bureau,  Department  of  the  Interior,  Washington,  D.  C. 
(Child  care  and  child  labor  bulletins) 

National  Kindergarten  Association,  250  Madison  Ave.,  New  York  City, 
(Kindergarten  literature) 

National  Child  Labor  Committee,  New  York  City,  (Child  Labor) 

Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Industrial  Education,  West  39th  Street, 
New  York  City,  (Industrial  and  Vocational  education.) 

Self  Government  Committee,  Citizens  League,  2  Wall  Street,  New  York 
City,  (Self  government  and  school  discipline.) 

Russell  Sage  Foundation,  130  East  23rd  Street,  New  York  City,  (Recre- 
ation, school  surveys  and  general.) 

General  Education  Board,  61  Broadway,  New  York  City,  (General). 

Institute  for  Public  Service,  51   Chambers  Street,  New  York  City, 
(General). 

National  Education  Association,  Durand  W.  Springer,  Sec'y-,  Ann 
Arbor,  Michigan,  (General) 

Playground  &  Recreational  Association  of  America,  1  Madison  Avenue, 
New  York  City,  (Recreation  and  school  health) 

Wisconsin  Anti-Tuberculosis  Association,  Milwaukee,  Wis.  (School 
health). 


XVI.    SCHOOL  FINANCES 

It  is  often  overlooked  by  an  organization  studying  the  schools  that  the 
finances  of  the  school  system  form  a  key  to  its  efficiency  and  that  a  study 
of  school  finances  will  reveal  perhaps  more  interesting  facts  and  possi- 
bilities than  any  other  one  study. 

In  an  analysis  of  the  schools  of  the  state,  it  was  found  that  some  spent 
two-thirds  again  as  much  on  teaching  salaries  as  did  other  Wisconsin  cities; 
that  the  amount  spent  on  control  (board  of  education,  school  census, 
superintendent's  salary,  office  expenses,  truancy,  etc.)  varies  1600  per  cent 
among  79  cities;  that  the  expense  of  school  maintenance  (repairs,  insur- 
ance, etc.)  varies  3800  per  cent.  Why  should  one  school  spend  less  than 
one-half  of  its  income  in  paying  teachers,  while  another  spends  three- 
fourths?  What  branch  of  the  school  system  gets  the  biggest  slice  of  the 
money  available?  These  are  questions  which,  if  answered  wisely,  will 
throw  a  flood  of  light  on  the  efficiency  of  the  school  system. 

1.    Taxes 

An  analysis  of  the  amount  of  taxes  paid  for  school  purposes  will  show 
whether  the  local  district  is  liberal  or  parsimonious  in  maintaining  its 
schools.  A  district  with  a  high  property  valuation  will  of  course  find  it 
possible  to  raise  more  money  for  school  purposes  than  the  district  where 
the  valuation  is  low. 

What  is  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  local  school  district?  What  was 
the  total  tax  during  the  past  year?  How  much  of  the  money  raised  went 
for  education  (a)  local,  (b)  county  or  state?  What  then  is  the  millage  tax 
for  local  education?  Compare  this  amount  with  the  millage  tax  in  ten 
cities  or  villages  of  approximately  the  same  size;  with  five  large  cities  such 
as  Milwaukee,  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  etc.,  and  with  five  rural  districts. 
(Figures  as  to  the  millage  tax  are  obtainable  by  writing  the  office  of  the 
superintendent  or  principal  of  the  schools  in  each  instance.  These  letters 
may  be  written  by  grade  pupils  for  language  practice.) 

Where  are  local  school  taxes  found  highest,  in  thinly,  average,  or  thickly 
settled  communities?  It  will  probably  be  found  that  taxes  are  much  the 
lowest  in  the  rural  communities  and  highest  in  the  cities.  Several  reasons 
for  this  may  be  found: 

a.  Expenses  are  higher  in  the  cities. 

b.  The  direct  income  of  the  farmer  is  far  smaller  than  that  of  the  average 
village  or  city  business  man. 

c.  Salaries  are  larger  in  cities  and  villages  as  better  trained  teachers  are 
employed. 

d.  City  people  are  willing  to  pay  higher  taxes  than  people  in  smaller 
communities. 

e.  City  communities  are  not  content  with  schools  of  as  inexpensive  a 
type  generally  as  are  rural  and  village  people. 


SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


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SCHOOL  FINANCES  89 

In  comparison  are  the  local  taxes  high  for  the  class  of  school  being 
studied?  If  high  how  is  the  fact  to  be  explained?  If  low  are  the  reasons  to 
be  found  in  state  aid,  much  nonresident  tuition,  economical  management, 
or  a  poor  standard  for  the  school  system?  These  figures  will  be  found 
excellent  material  for  a  chart  on  finances  on  the  order  of  Plate  XIX. 

2.    Analysis  of  School  Income 

From  the  clerk  of  the  school  board  or  the  school  superintendent  obtain 
a  statement  of  the  total  school  income  during  the  most  recent  complete 
school  year.  What  proportion  of  it  was  obtained  through  direct  taxation? 
(For  the  state  as  a  whole  this  is  about  36  per  cent.)  What  proportion  is 
obtained  through  state  and  county  taxes,  non-resident  tuition,  sale  of 
texts,  etc.?  What  proportion  is  composed  of  nonrevenue  receipts,  that  is, 
money  which  has  been  loaned  to  the  local  school  system?  For  what  have 
loans  been  contracted? 

Is  the  school  system  in  debt  and  if  so  to  what  extent  and  for  what  cause? 
How  long  will  it  take  to  pay  off  the  indebtedness? 

3.    Analysis  of  School  Expenditures 

Procure  the  report  of  the  superintendent  or  principal  to  the  state  super- 
intendent of  public  instruction  or  county  superintendent  for  the  latest 
year  for  which  this  is  available.  Expenses  are  divided  in  the  following 
manner: 

Control — 

1.  Board  of  Education  and  the  secretary's  office 

2.  School  census 

3.  Finance  offices  and  accounts 

4.  Legal  services 

5.  Operation  and  maintenance  of  office  building 

6.  Officers  in  control  of  buildings  and  supplies 

7.  Salary  of  the  superintendent  of  schools 

8.  Expenses  of  office  of  superintendent  of  schools 

9.  Enforcement  of  compulsory  education  and  truancy  laws 
10.  Other  expenses  of  general  control 

Instruction — 

1.  Salaries  of  supervisors  of  grades  or  of  subjects 

2.  Other  expenses  of  supervision 

3.  Salaries  of  principals  and  their  clerks 

4.  Other  expenses  of  principals 

5.  Salaries  of  men  teachers.     (Do  not  include  amount  withheld  for 

pension  and  retirement  fund.) 

6.  Salaries  of  women  teachers.    (Do  not  include  amount  withheld  for 

pension  md  retirement  fund.) 

7.  Textbooks 

8.  Stationery  and  supplies  used  in  instruction 

9.  Materials  used  in  manual  training  and  domestic  science 
10.  Other  expenses  of  instruction 

Operation  of  School  Plant — 

1.  Wages  of  janitors  and  other  employees 

2.  Fuel 

3.  Water 

4.  Light  and  power 

5.  Janitor's  supplies 

6.  Other  expenses  of  operation  of  school  plant 


90         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

Maintenance  of  School  Plant — 

1 .  Repair  of  buildings  arid  upkeep  of  grounds 

2.  Repair  and  replacement  of  equipment 

3.  Insurance 

4.  Other  expenses  of  maintenance  of  school  plant 

Miscellaneous — 

1 .  Salaries  of  librarians  and  assistants 

2.  Library  books 

3.  Other  expenses  of  libraries 

4.  Salaries  of  physicians  and  nurses 

5.  Other  expenses  of  promotion  of  health 

6.  Transportation  of  pupils 

7.  Payments  to  other  districts 

8.  Teachers'  pension  nnd  retirement  fund 

9.  Rent 

10.  Other  miscellaneous  expenses 

Outlays — 

1.  Land 

2.  New  buildings 

3.  Alteration  of  old  buildings  (not  included  in  line  30) 

4.  Equipment  of  new  buildings  and  grounds 

5.  Equipment  of  old  buildings,  exclusive  of  replacements 

6.  Redemption  of  bonds 

7.  Redemption  of  short-term  loans 

8.  Payments  of  warrants  and  orders  of  preceding  years 

9.  Payments  of  sinking  funds 

10.  Payments  of  interest 

11.  Miscellaneous  payments  including  payments  to  trust  funds,  text- 

books to  be  sold  to  pupils,  etc. 

Outlays  are  expenses  which  do  not  come  frequently  such  as  payment  of 
loans,  purchase  of  land,  erection  of  new  building  or  additions,  etc.  They 
are  not  ordinarily  to  be  considered  in  computing  costs  for  the  school. 

What  are  the  proportionate  expenditures  for  these  various  items  in 
your  school?  Plate  XX  gives  the  proportion  of  the  state-  money  which  is 
expended  for  each  of  the  various  purposes.  Show  cause  where  one  item  is 
higher  than  the  state  average,  or  is  greater  than  it  needs  to  be.  Many 
schools  find  it  possible  to  pay  over  60  per  cent  of  expenditures  for  teachers' 
salaries  and  this  is  to  be  commended.  Analyze  expenses  to  see  what  items 
are  entirely  omitted  in  the  local  schools.  For  example,  what  does  the 
school  spend,  if  anything,  for  the  promotion  of  health  in  pupils?  Might 
the  library  expenditure  be  larger  to  good  advantage? 


4.    Unit  Costs 

The  unit  cost  of  any  activity  is  its  cost  per  individual  benefited.  Per 
capita  cost  for  the  school  as  a  whole  is  obtained  by  dividing  the  total 
expenditures  excluding  outlays  by  the  total  number  of  pupils.*  To  find 
per  capita  cost,  make  a  table  such  as  the  following: 


*Per  capit?  cost  for  Wisconsin  city  schools,  grade  and  high  school  children  both 
included — $35.00,  1914-1915, — based  on  total  enrollment. 


SCHOOL  FINANCES 


91 


(a)  Total  number  of  pupils  enrolled 

(b)  Total  expenditures  of  the  school 

(c)  Outlays 

(d)  Expenditures  for  all  current  purposes. 

(subtract  (c)  from  (b) 

(e)  Per  capita  cost 

(divide  (d)  by  (a)  ) 


The  unit  cost  of  overhead  (operation,  maintenance,  control,  and  mis- 
cellaneous) of  a  school  is  found  by  dividing  the  cost  of  these  four  items  by 
the  total  number  of  pupils  enrolled.  The  cost  of  instruction  per  pupil 
is  obtained  by  dividing  total  teaching  salaries  by  total  number  of  pupils. 
Compute  the  overhead  and  cost  of  instruction  per  pupil  in  the  local  schools. 

Now  take  the  enrollment  by  grades  and  salaries  of  teachers  by  grades. 
Compute  the  teaching  expense  per  pupil  in  each  of  the  various  grades. 
When  you  come  to  the  high  school,  it  will  not  be  possible  to  separate  by 


WHERE  DOES  OUR  DOLLAR  GO? 


PLATE   XX 


92         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

9th,  10th,  llth,  and  12th  grades,  but  it  will  be  necessary  to  compute 
instructional  cost  per  pupil  for  the  high  school  as  a  whole.  (See  high  school 
principal's  report  to  the  state  superintendent.) 

It  may  be  advisable  or  interesting  to  compute  unit  costs  by  subject 
studied,  especially  in  the  high  school.  The  method  of  doing  this  is  as 
follows:  Suppose  that  a  history  teacher  teaches  5  classes  a  day  and  receives 
$600.00  salary  for  the  year.  Each  class  which  she  teaches  would  cost  one- 
fifth  of  $600.00,  or  $120.00.  Suppose  that  there  are  20  pupils  in  her  class. 
The  cost  of  teaching  each  one  of  these  pupils  this  subject  for  a  school  year 
would  be  one-twentieth  of  $120.00  or  $6.00.  A  computation  of  the  com- 
parative costs  of  high  school  subjects  will  be  found  valuable.  Which  are 
the  most  expensive?  In  computing  this,  the  costs  are  usually  shown  in 
terms  of  100  student  hours.  For  example,  for  the  history  class  above 
studied,  the  cost  per  student  hour  is  3f  c  and  the  cost  per  100  student  hours 
would  be  $3.33. 

5.    School  and  Other  Civic  Activities 

It  will  be  valuable  to  determine  how  much  the  school  costs  in  comparison 
with  other  local  activities.  Get  from  the  town,  village,  or  city  clerk  a 
record  of  activities  and  expenditures  for  the  past  year.  What  part  of  this 
do  the  school  expenditures  represent?  Compare  in  detail  how  much  the 
community  spends  for  schools  in  comparison  to  what  it  spends  for  admin- 
istrative expenses,  fire  protection,  board  of  health  expenses,  etc.,  etc. 

6.    Cost  of  Recommendation 

As  each  topic  in  this  outline  is  presented  to  the  club  it  will  be  noted  that 
they  may  be  divided  into  three  sorts — (a)  to  involve  no  financial  outlay  (b) 
to  involve  added  expense  for  the  schools  or  citizens  (c)  to  involve  a  possible 
saving  for  the  schools.  For  all  problems  coming  under  heads  (b)  and  (c) 
compute  the  cost  or  the  amount  of  saving  possible.  Obtain  from  the  school 
clerk  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  school  district.  Divide  this  into  the 
amount  raised  by  the  local  district  for  the  maintenance  of  its  schools  dur- 
ing the  year.  Compute  the  proportions  which  the  yearly  school  cost 
represents  of  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  school  district. 

No  district  may  legally  borrow  money  for  school  purposes  to  more  than 
five  per  cent  of  its  assessed  valuation.  What  limit  does  this  place  on  possi- 
ble outlay  expenditures  for  the  local  schools? 

Go  very  carefully  through  all  recommendations  which  have  been  made 
to  determine  what  they  will  mean  in  an  added  tax  burden  and  which  of 
them  had  better  be  abandoned  or  put  off  on  this  account.  Revise  club  list 
of  recommendations  to  make  it  as  practical  and  economical  as  possible. 
Every  school  district  should  be  willing  to  increase  expenditures  in  order  to 
increase  school  efficiency  but  there  is  inevitably  a  point  beyond  which  in- 
creased expenditures  would  not  bring  returns  to  compensate  for  the 
added  tax  burden. 

7.  Budget 

A  budget  is  a  collection  of  estimated  expenditures  for  consideration  of 
the  taxpayers  in  a  district  or  for  the  common  council  or  a  city  council  in  a 


SCHOOL  FINANCES  93 

city.  It  should  include  estimated  probable  expenditures  for  teaching 
salaries,  fuel,  janitor  expenses  and  all  the  main  points  shown  in  the  financial 
report  of  past  expenditures  to  the  state  superintendent. 

Get  from  the  school  clerk  a  full  account  of  budget  methods  in  the  dis- 
trict. How  closely  arc  items  estimated  for  any  coming  year?  Is  money 
appropriated  separately  by  items  or  in  a  lump  sum  for  the  schools  as  a 
whole?  After  money  has  been  appropriated,  is  it  redistributed  according 
to  budget  estimates  or  are  changes  made  in  distribution?  The  an- 
nual school  meeting  comes  the  first  Monday  in  July.  Before  this  time 
get  a  member  of  the  school  board  to  talk  to  the  club  on  the  board's  esti- 
mates for  expenses  in  the  coming  year.  Invite  the  board  to  be  present  at  a 
club  meeting  and  make  report  to  them  and  to  the  club  as  to  what  recom- 
mendations should  be  considered  which  will  involve  some  expenditure. 
In  the  case  of  any  club  recommendations  which  will  take  added  funds 
suggest  to  the  school  board  that  it  incorporate  provision  for  these  in  its 
report  at  the  annual  meeting. 

Every  voter  in  the  district  should  attend  the  annual  school  meeting  to 
talk  over  projects  for  the  good  of  the  schools.  Why  not  make  this  a  live 
affair  instead  of  the  dead  routine  meeting  which  is  held  in  most  localities? 
It  is  on  this  occasion  that  the  good  of  the  schools  may  be  most  materially 
advanced  by  the  citizens  of  the  community — it  is  their  opportunity  to 
benefit  the  school  system.  If  possible,  hold  the  school  exhibit  at  this  time 
and  urge  all  citizens  to  come  out  for  the  annual  meeting.  There  is  no 
reason  why  a  brief  program  should  not  be  presented  at  this  meeting  with 
speakers  and  musical  numbers. 


S.  C.-4 


XVII.    THE  SCHOOL  EXHIBIT 

At  the  close  of  the  year's  work,  the  club's  school  exhibit  should  be  held 
in  cooperation  with  the  school  authorities.  In  case  that  not  all  the  sections 
presented  in  this  outline  can  be  covered  there,  it  is  better  to  cover  a  few 
thoroughly,  than  to  cover  a  great  many  in  a  slip-shod  manner.  The  ex- 
hibit should  consider  only  those  which  have  been  exhaustively  studied. 

Each  study  which  the  club  makes  should  furnish  one  or  more  charts  on 
the  lines  of  those  which  are  scattered  through  this  outline  as  suggestions. 
These  charts  should  be  colored  where  possible.  In  addition  to  the  charts 
there  should  be  graphical  respresentations  by  means  of  objects,  models, 
etc.  For  example  in  the  work  on  the  school  lunch  it  will  be  well  to  have 
several  tempting  lunches  prepared  along  good  dietary  lines  and  exhibited 
together  with  the  chart  giving  menus.  If  it  is  desired  to  show  graphically 
the  difference  in  earning  power  between  the  boy  with  a  high  school  educa- 
tion and  the  boy  without,  a  number  of  coins  representing  the  day's  earning 
of  each  may  be  fastened  under  a  glass  cover  with  the  caption — "Which 
would  you  rather  have?"  and  an  explanation  of  the  meaning.  There  should 
be  an  outside  speaker  at  the  school  exhibit.  The  superintendent  or  prin- 
cipal should  also  be  called  upon  to  speak.  A  good  topic  for  the  latter 
would  be — "What  I  would  do  for  the  schools  with  a  bequest  of  $10,000." 

A  word  of  caution  with  regard  to  charts  and  exhibits  may  be  in  order. 
It  is  essential  that  everything  be  made  constructive,  that  is,  that  the  remedy 
be  shown  along  with  the  bad  condition.  Should  the  club  show  floors  net 
scrubbed  often  enough,  school  grounds  unbeautified,  desks  in  poor  condi- 
tion or  other  backward  features  of  the  school  system,  there  should  always 
be  included  the  remedy,  perhaps  usually  with  a  "Why  not  make  this 
better"  or  "Your  interest  will  help"  or  "Let's  have  more  windows  in  the 
schoolhouse!" 

This  exhibit  may  include  samples  of  school  work  by  school  pupils  such 
as  form  the  staple  of  ordinary  school  exhibits.  It  may  also  include  a  pro- 
gram by  the  school  children.  Much  emphasis  should  be  placed  upon  the 
club  studies  which  have  brought  results  previous  to  the  time  of  the  exhibit. 
It  may  be  well  to  have  a  booth  marked  "Results  already  attained"  wherein 
are  grouped  the  charts  showing  conditions  which  have  already  been  reme- 
died by  the  action  of  the  club.  Lunch  served  by  th?  domestic  science  girls, 
tables  or  racks  made  by  the  manual  training  boys,  a  little  play  or  special 
program,  a  sample  quarter  session  of  regular  school  work,  all  would  con- 
tribute to  the  success  of  such  a  school  exhibit  as  this. 

Objects  should  be  used  as  much  as  possible.  An  effective  method  of  chart 
rrak'ng  is  to  tie  or  fasten  to  the  heavy  cardboard  the  object  which  is 
needed  for  graphic  representation — e.  g.  bank,  textbook,  or  other  article. 

In  conclusion  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  because  a  study  is  made  one 
year  the  same  study  should  not  be  repeated  during  other  years.  In  one 
county  in  Wisconsin  the  number  of  children  using  toothbrushes  was 
found  to  increase  by  over  100  per  cent  between  one  year  and  the  next. 
If  the  county  superintendent  had  ceased  getting  this  data  after  the  first 
year,  it  would  not  have  been  kno  AH  what  the  results  of  this  study  were. 
It  is  very  valuable  especially  in  connection  with  studies  where  improve- 
ment is  most  needed  that  yearly  analysis  be  made  to  show  progress  and 
opportunity  for  advancement. 


APPENDIX  ON  METHOD 


To  study  local  conditions  intelligently,  it  is  necessary  nowadays  to  be 
acquainted  with  means  of  collecting,  arranging,  and  interpreting  figures. 

Moreover,  the  duty  of  a  club  is  not  done  when  it  merely  instructs  itself 
on  school  questions.  It  must  also  educate  and  inform  other  citizens,  so 
that  all  will  have  the  benefit  of  studies  made.  It  should  hold  a  school 
exhibit  (see  section  17)  at  the  close  of  the  year's  work,  and  show  there 
charts  and  posters  concerning  school  facts.  This  section  aims  to  tell  how 
a  club  may  best  work  with  figures. 

You  will  need 

several  colors  of  chalks  and  inks 

a  protractor  to  measure  angles 

a  ruler 

a  compass 

squared  paper  (squares  about  1-4  inch)  /  . 

large  chart  paper  (18"x28") 

pencils,  pens,  etc. 

You  will  need  to  know  how  to  add,  subtract,  multiply,  and  divide,  and 
also  how  to  obtain  a  percentage  (ordinarily  by  dividing  the  larger  into  the 
smaller  number). 

The  first  thing  is  to  be  sure  that  your  figures  to  start  on  are  complete. 
Don't  leave  out  any  children  and  expect  to  get  correct  results  on  enroll- 
ment, attendance,  etc. 

Always  check  results  to  see  if  they  add  correctly,  across  and  up  and 
down.  Always  include  a  total  column  both  ways  to  check  by.  Use  cards  for 
children  or  other  individual  data,  where  possible,  rather  than  page  lists. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  a  club  to  do  all  the  work  of  arranging  and  inter- 
preting figures  itself.  The  work  in  addition  is  splendid  material  for  the 
school  children.  Geometry  students  can  help  in  plotting  curves  in  their 
study  of  graphs,  and  drawing  students  can  do  much  in  making  artistic 
posters  or  in  coloring  and  filling  in  outlines. 

Example  of  Study 

For  example:  We  wish  to  study  non-promotions  in  city  grades  for  the 
state  of  Wisconsin.  First  of  all  we  shall  look  up  our  figures  and  divide  the 
children  into  groups  by  grades  and  "total  failed,"  "incomplete,"  and 
"promoted."  Our  table  when  complete  will  show  in  this  fcrm: 


96 


SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


Total 
No. 

Failed 
No. 

Dropped 
No. 

Promoted 
No. 

Total  

103676 

7949 

8637 

87090 

1st  grade  

18821 

1849 

1939 

15033 

2nd  grade  

15190 

972 

1205 

13013 

3rd  grade  

13676 

844 

1137 

11695 

4th  grade  

13459 

1065 

1076 

11318 

5th  grade  

12503 

1038 

1003 

10462 

6th  grade  

11366 

861 

819 

9686 

7th  grade  

10315 

863 

891 

8561 

8th  grade  

8346 

457 

567 

7322 

You  will  notice  that  in  each  case  the  top  or  left  hand  figure  is  the  sum 
of  the  column  crosswise,  or  up  and  down,  and  that  the  figure  103676  is 
the  sum  of  the  data  for  the  grades  as  well  as  of  the  three  column  totals. 
This  means  that  the  table  checks. 

Next  should  be  computed  percentages.  When  this  is  done  the  table  will 
look  like  this: 

NONPROMOTTON  CHART  WISCONSIN  CITY  SCHOOLS  1914-1915 


Total 

Failed 

Dropped 

Promoted 

No. 

Percent 

No. 

Per  cent 

No. 

Per  cent 

No. 

Per  cent 

Total  

103676 

100 

7949 

7.7 

8637 

8.3 

87090 

84.0 

1st  grade  

18821 

100 

1849 

9.8 

1939 

10.2 

15033 

80.0 

2nd  grade  

15190 

100 

972 

6.4 

1205 

8.0 

13013 

85.6 

3rd  grade  

13676 

100 

844 

6.2 

1137 

8.3 

11695 

85.5 

4th  grade  

13459 

100 

1065 

8.0 

1076 

8.0 

11318 

84.0 

5th  grade  

12503 

100 

1038 

8.3 

1003 

.  8.0 

10462 

83.7 

6th  grade 

11366 

100 

861 

7.6 

819 

7.2 

9686 

85.2 

7th  grade 

10315 

100 

863 

8.4 

891 

8.7 

8561 

82.9 

8th  grade  

8346 

100 

457 

5.5 

567 

6.8 

7322 

87.7 

You  will  notice  that  the  per  cents  in  each  line  of  figures  add  up  to  100 
crosswise,  although  up  and  down  of  course.no  check  is  possible.  From  a 
table  like  this  one  can  see  at  a  glance  what  grades  fail  the  greatest  number 
of  pupils  and  from  what  grades  pupils  are  most  likely  to  drop.  It  should 
be  mentioned  that  "dropped"  means  "dropped  during  year,"  not  "failed  to 
enroll."  Notice  that  the  total  columns  are  at  the  top  and  left  hand  instead 
of  at  the  right  hand  and  bottom,  as  is  usual  in  accounting.  This  is  so  that 
they  will  be  near  the  headings  and  will  occupy  the  prominent  place  which 
their  importance  demands,  rather  than  being  placed  at  the  end  of  a  mass 
of  material. 

We  now  wish  to  show  graphically  the  facts  brought  out  by  the  above 
table.  To  do  this  we  should  use  squared  paper.  The  first  thing  to  con- 
sider is:  "What  is  the  largest  figure  which  I  must  show?"  In  this  case  it  is 


APPENDIX  ON  METHOD 


97 


18821,  as  we  wish  to  make  the  graph  to  represent  the  relations  of  the  dif- 
ferent grades  to  one  another  in  the  numbers  of  pupils  failed,  incomplete, 
and  promoted. 

Should  we  count  100  children  to  the  square  our  graph  would  need  to 
be  189  squares  high.  This  is,  of  course,  an  awkward  height.  We  try  letting 
each  square  represent  200,  and  find  that  95  squares  is  still  too  high  for  a 
graph.  We  decide  in  this  case  to  let  one  square  equal  500  children,  and  so 
make  our  graph  38  squares  or  (on  |inch  squared  paper)  9  finches  high.  For 
the  width  of  the  curve  we  decide  to  let  each  grade  be  represented  by  the 
fourth  squared  line,  which  will  make  our  chart  28  squares  or  7  inches  wide. 
We  make  an  ink  line  around  the  amount  of  squared  paper  which  our  chart 
will  take,  and  make  notations  outside  the  graph  area  for  each  grade  line 
and  each  line  representing  1000  children.  (See  plate  XXI). 


gr 

19000 

Tc8!j5rH°a-iSf 
6raH8000 

17000 
16000 

15000 
No.  promoted 

14000 
13000 
12000 
11000 
10000 
9000 
8000 
7000 
6000 
5000 
4000 

3000 

Ho.  Incomplete 
2000 
Mo.   failed 

1000 
0 

Number  of  Children  Promoted,   Failed  and  Incomplete 
in  Wisconsin  City  Schools  1914-15. 

ide           grade            grade         grade           grade           grade           grade           grade 

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PLATE  XXI 


£8         SUGGESTIVE  STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 

We  will  have  for  this  graph  four  curves  to  represent  columns,  "total," 
"failed,"  "incomplete,"  and  "promoted."  Let  us  first  follow  up  the  total 
column.  Our  first  figure  for  the  first  grade  is  18821.  Following  up  the  grade 
one  line  to  approximately  4-5  of  the  distance  between  18000  and  19000  we 
make  an  ink  dot  representing  this  number.  (See  plate  1).  The  next  figure 
is  15190.  On  the  second  grade  line  we  follow  up  to  a  point  above  the  15000 
line,  which  will  represent  this  amount.  In  the  same  way  we  make  dots  for 
13676,  13459,  and  the  other  figures  in  this  column.  When  we  have  finished 
we  draw  the  line  which  represents  the  total  number  of  children  in  each  of 
these  grades.  In  the  same  way  we  draw  the  lines  for  the  children  failed, 
incomplete,  and  promoted,  using  for  each  a  different  color  of  ink,  and  for 
the  failed  curve,  which  is  the  one  we  want  to  be  the  most  prominent,  red 
ink.  The  finished  graph  will  represent  the  appearance  of  plate  XXI. 

Suppose  we  want  to  represent  by  bars,  a  very  common  form  of  graphic 
representation,  the  number  of  children  failed,  incomplete,  and  promoted 
in  Wisconsin  schools  during  a  single  year.  To  represent  this  is  very  simple. 
We  first  make  a  black  bar  representing  100  per  cent  of  the  children.  Let 
this  bar  equal  a  given  length, — say  4  inches.  This  represents  the  total 
children  enrolled  in  school.  In  the  next  bar  we  wish  to  show  the  number 
who  were  promoted.  We  know  that  this  equals  84  per  cent  of  the  total 
children  involved.  We  get  84-100  of  4  inches,  which  will  be  3  -1-4  inches. 
The  number  of  failures  is  7.7  per  cent  of  the  total.  77-1000  of  4  inches  is 
approximately  5-16  of  an  inch.  We  shall  draw  a  bar  of  this  length  to  rep- 
resent this  fact.  8.3  per  cent  will  represent  a  bar  about  3-8  of  an  inch. 
Wrhen  finished  we  have  a  series  of  bars  like  this: 


Total, 103676- 
100$ 

Promoted 
87090-84* 


Failed 

7949- 

7.7% 

Incomplete 
8637 -8.S5& 


Suppose  that  instead  of  wanting  to  use  the  bar  method  we  wish  to  make 
a  circle  graph  of  the  facts  as  to  nonpromotions.  The  whole  circle  will 
represent  the  total  children  enrolled  or  103676.  The  number  of  degrees 
taken  from  the  circle  will  show  the  various  groups  of  children,  those  failed, 
incomplete,  and  promoted.  The  children  having  failed  are,  as  has  been 
said,  7.7  per  cent  of  the  total.  7.7  per  cent  of  360  degrees  is  approximately 
28  degrees.  We  shall  mark  off  this  amount  on  the  circumference  of  the 
circle  from  any  given  radius,  and  then  draw  the  radius  from  this  point  to 
the  center.  8.3  per  cent,  or  the  number  incomplete,  would  represent  30 
degrees,  which  number  again  will  be  represented  by  a  second  segment  of 


APPENDIX  ON 


a  circle.  To  check  the  circle  with  the  facts  we  shall  take  84  per  cent  of  360 
degrees,  which  is  found  to  be  302  degrees.  By  using  our  protractor  we 
find  that  this  is  the  amount  which  is  left  of  the  circle.  The  complete  graph 
will  look  as  follows: 


The  bar  and  the  circle  graphs  are  the  commonest  form  of  graphic  rep- 
resentation. In  finances  the  dollar  may  be  divided  up  into  segments  by 
the  circle  method  to  show  vividly  comparative  expenditures.  Other 
examples  of  possible  means  of  graphic  representation  are  to  be  found  in 
newspapers,  reports,  magazines,  and  bulletins  on  almost  any  subject.  A 
bulletin  published  by  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  No.  130  East  22nd 
Street,  New  York  City,  "A  comparative  study  of  the  school  systems  of 
forty-eight  states,"  which  can  be  procured  for  15  cents,  gives  a  number 
of  excellent  examples  of  graphic  representation.  For  the  club  which  wishes 
to  make  a  more  extensive  study  of  methods  in  this  line  perhaps  the  best 
work  is  "Graphic  methods  for  presenting  facts"  by  Willard  C.  Brinton, 
published  by  the  Engineering  Magazine  Co.,  New  York  City,  and  sold  at 
$3.00. 

One  method  which  is  like  the  bar  method,  but  looks  different,  is  to  use 
instead  of  black  bars  symbols  or  little  figures,  such  as  dollar  signs,  or 
representations  of  children,  etc.  For  this  we  use  proportionate  numbers  of 
symbols  in  the  various  lines,  e.  g. 

Your  tax  money  $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 

What  the  high  school  pupil  gets   $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 
What  the  grade  pupil  gets  $$$$$$ 


IGG  ;  ."StiGGESTjyB. STUDIES  OF  SCHOOL  CONDITIONS 


EACH  YEAR  SEES  $354,400 


ECONOMIC  WASTE 


IN 


WISCONSIN 


THROUGH  NON-PROMOTIONS 


Yearly  Expenses 

goes   to   educating 

Repeaters 


How  many  failures  are  preventable  by 


Good  teaching 

Good  attendance 

Good  home  cooperation 

Good  will  of  teacher  and  pupil 


CAN  OUR  SCHOOLS  AFFORD 


TO  FAIL  CHILDREN? 


PLATE   XXII 


APPENDIX  ON  METHOD  -  h'GI- 

_    Did  Not  <=> 

Graduate.  Graduated. 


At  AH 


Very  often  no  ordinary  graphic  representation  will  show  the  thing  as  it 
should  be  shown.  We  must  cultivate  ingenuity  in  seeing  the  relations  of 
facts.  For  example :  In  the  study  just  explained  in  detail,  that  of  nonpromo- 
tion,  connection  may  be  made  with  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  schools 
of  Wisconsin.  It  was  found  that  approximately  $4,430,000  is  spent  for  the 
city  grades  each  year.  If  8  per  cent  of  the  children  fail,  this  means  that 
each  year  $354,400  is  spent  for  the  education  of  repeaters  in  grades.  In 
this  fact  lies  the  "feature"  of  the  study.  As  a  final  showing  a  chart  should 
be  made  such  as  plate  XXII. 

Each  study  that  your  club  makes  with  regard  to  the  school  should 
produce  one  or  more  graphic  charts  showing  conditions.  This  should  be 
made  on  large  size  round  paper.  Use  plenty  of  ink  so  that  they  may  be 
seen  at  some  distance.  Colors  should  be  used  where  possible,  especially 
the  brighter  colors, — red,  violet,  etc.  Objects  or  object  charts  are  also 
very  effective.  This  was  discussed  in  section  17,  "The  School  Exhibit." 
Where  the  name  of  a  city  or  village  is  used  in  the  headline,  it  should  be 
made  to  stand  out  by  using  larger  letters  or  some  more  prominent  color 
of  ink.  This  is  also  the  case  with  the  keyword  or  feature  symbol  of  the 
chart. 

All  charts  should  be  saved  for  the  club's  annual  exhibit  which  will  give 
a  summary  of  facts  concerning  the  schools. 


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